


Connection

by AloneShadow



Category: Almost Human (TV)
Genre: Androids, As a non-english author I find that very amusing lol, Bromance to Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Communication Failure, Friendship/Love, Hurt John, Hurt/Comfort, Investigations, Kidnapping, M/M, Mild Language, Nonsense sentences, Not Betaed, OC backstory, POV Dorian, Protective Dorian, Protective John Kennex, Science Experiments, because reasons, feel all the feels, hurt dorian, switching POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-10-11 01:44:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 47,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20538122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AloneShadow/pseuds/AloneShadow
Summary: Dorian kept staring at him, this time no streaks appearing on his face. He tiled his head bit, narrowing his eyebrows, unsure, as an absurd idea hit him. “…John? Is it you?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this fic months ago, but the idea was a mess, so I let it be until everything started falling in place.  
Basically, the prompt was: "A character can't communicate with others since is only able to talk nonsense".
> 
> NOTE: This fic is 4 chapters long, but, since I wrote the _translated_ version first (aka, the version with the real sentences the character say) I'll add that as an extra chapter at the end, in case this version is too messy and the reader just wants to know what is going on.  
It will be added for last because, obviously, the _translated_ chapters have more spoilers.

Dorian opened his eyes and Rudy’s lab appeared in front of him: everything was normal in the dim light. His system showed him it was five AM.

He was sure that wasn’t the last place he had been before his eyes closed, but the files of the past twenty hours were missing. Fully charged, he tried to move out the cabin and noticed, with mild surprise, that he was blocked into it by metal bars around his torso and legs, and his right arm was missing. 

Dorian scanned the area. “John? Rudy?” He called, but there was no answer. Looking down, he knew he could easily get free destroying the restrains, but… 

“Hey. You’re awake.” 

Looking up, he saw Valerie Stahl approaching. “Detective Stahl. Why am I stuck in here?” 

“Dorian, we-“ 

“Why is my arm missing? Where’s John?” 

“Listen to me for a sec, ok?” she said rising a hand to stop him. 

“Part of my memory has been removed. I don't-” he insisted, pulling against the bars a bit.

“It was necessary to understand what happened. We needed to check your records. It’s been a few days already, so-” 

“Days? For how long I have been deactivated?” 

“Five days, since your last assignment.” 

Dorian was used to always rely on his own records and data… Missing what he needed the most was like having a flaw in the system that no one could fix. “I can’t remember about that. John should-“ 

“Detective Stahl, you’re not supposed to be here.” A man in a black suit said, walking towards them. 

Valerie sighed, “I just wanted to-“ 

“This DRN is not authorized to be operative at the moment.” He said staring briefly at the android before walking behind the recharge chamber. 

“Why not? I’m detective Kennex’s partner,” Dorian asked, trying to get free again. “I don’t understand…” 

“Sir, please,” Valerie moved closer to the man. “We know he did nothing wrong-“ 

“Where’s John?” Dorian kept asking but no one answered him. He worryingly looked at the laboratory one last time before his system shut down again.

.-.

“Dorian?”

It was almost completely dark when Dorian opened his eyes, sitting on the floor, with Rudy kneeling next to him. 

“You know who I am?” 

Dorian blinked once. “Of course I know who you are, Rudy.” 

The mechanic sighed in relief. “Good, that’s- that’s good. I was worried they might have messed with you and- nevermind. I’m happy that you’re alright.” 

Dorian slowly looked down, finding his right arm back in place. Scanning the area, he realized it was the storage where the unused androids were kept. He could see them hanging behind and in front of him, and on the other side of the room. “Why I’m here? Why-“ he blinked again, sounding frustrated, “Why I can’t move?” 

“That’s because I- I can’t completely reactivate you yet, I'm sorry. I shouldn’t be here in the first place…” 

“Rudy, what is going on? What have I done?” 

“Nothing. You-” 

“Then why I’m here? I was talking to detective Stahl before, in your laboratory, but a man turned me off again.” 

“I know... I know, I should have-“ 

“I needed to talk to John. Why I’m not with him?” 

Rudy took a deep breath. “Dorian, I… I am sorry I couldn’t wake you up sooner. I wasn’t allowed to see you until this morning…” 

“What do you mean?” 

“It’s been a week since you talked with Detective Stahl.” 

It took Dorian a second to elaborate the information his system couldn’t confirm: he wasn't even connected to the net anymore. “Have I done something wrong?” He asked again, his voice lower now, “That’s why John doesn’t want me as his partner anymore?” 

“No, nothing like that… That’s why I came here to wake you up.” Rudy shook his head and showed him a little USB drive. “These are the memories- I mean, the records I was asked to remove from your hard-drive a week ago. The Captain said there’s no problem giving them back to you, but…” 

“But you don’t want to?” Dorian finished, studying his expression. “Why?”

“I’m just saying that maybe- maybe it would be better to do this once you’ll be out of here. It'll be a matter of days by now...” 

“Rudy, I can't wait. I need to know.” 

“I knew you’d said that…” Rudy sighed looking down at the USB drive he was moving between his fingers. 

“If it’s important, please, let me remember,” Dorian said. 

The other took a deep breath and moved closer, putting the pen in the port behind his head. He then saw Dorian’s blue eyes shine, face blank while the data started to flow back into the system. 

Dorian finally found the records of his and John’s last mission: thief had been reported attacking a scientific clinic... to steal projects of chemical and biological weapons… 

_“Are they trying to steal some virus? Ugh… I hate those.” _

_“Are you an expert about biological weapons, John?”_

_“You bet. I deal with you all day. No virus can't be worse than that.”_

Dorian could see John grinning sitting next to him, driving the car while talking about the case… It was like traveling back in time. He saw him parking in front of the building and checking the gun before leaving the car. Then, Dorian's eyes moved to the right to do the same, and then up, when a sudden explosion on the fifth floor of the clinic occurred. 

_“Shit… let’s go!”_ John yelled running towards the building. Once inside, he looked at the upper floors; people were screaming everywhere for help, trying to escape. _“Status?”_

_“The building’s stability is compromised. Evacuation protocols already started, but the last three floors are inaccessible.”_ Dorian heard himself answer while scanning the security system of the clinic.

_“Call for backups, tell them we have civilians to evacuate. We’ll try to- hey!”_ John stopped one of the guards, asking for information. 

Dorian looked up when there was another explosion, creating a waterfall of debris inside the building, from the third floor, straight down into the atrium where they were. He saw John taking the guard and another man to safety; then, looking up again, Dorian saw a woman falling down and quickly moved to the left to catch her into his arms. _“Everything is ok. You need to evacuate the building.” _ he told her and she barely nodded, covered in dust, crying a shaky ‘thank you’ before leaving. 

_“Good catch. Give me a hand with that,” _ John commented running past him to help other people stuck under more rubbles. 

_“The building is not safe. John, you should-“ _Dorian froze as he picked up a signal, and it took him a few seconds to find the origin. _“They’re going to destroy the building.”_

_“Yeah, I can see that!”_ John snarled pointing other civilians towards the exit before moving closer to him, coughing a bit because of the dust.

_“I mean there are more explosives underground.”_ Dorian explained and saw the man staring back, thinking. _“John-“_

_“There are still people in here- and I’m sure some of the sick bastards responsible for this are still around as well...” _

_“I can go downstairs and try to deactivate the bombs.” _

John looked unsure. _ “How much time do we have? _

_“I can’t tell from here.” _

_“Then forget it. It could blow up in your face while-“ _

Another explosion on the upper floors just confirmed his words. Dorian looked up, spotting too many critical damages in the structure. _ “John, you have to-“ _ he managed to say before half of the third floor started crashing down, almost breaking the atrium’s floor, making them fall and roll away, hitting harshly against the chairs and tables of the bar close by. Dorian quickly turned around, scanning the area to find his partner through the dust: John was few feet away, pieces of debris falling from his back as he tried to push himself up. _“Are you alright?”_

_“Never been better,”_ John coughed. _“How many bombs you’ve detected?”_

_“At least three more below us.”_ He said offering a hand to help him up, while quickly using the other to hold a piece of wall from falling on the man. 

_“There are still too many people in here…”_ John said looking up, hearing other screams. 

_“We can’t do anything to save the building,”_ Dorian said, checking that the exit was still available- then he looked above, alarmed. _“John-!” _

Dorian could now remember the explosion that made the ceiling collapse on them, and how he had been _pushed_ away before finishing that sentence, falling on the ground, on his back- and then the sound of metal crashing his right arm. 

His system shut down after that, until he woke up again in Rudy’s lab.

The records stopped and he was in the storage again. Blinking, he turned to the mechanic that was staring worriedly at him. “John was injured in the accident? How is he?” 

Rudy swallowed and looked down. “We haven’t found him yet.” 

“But… It has been more than a week ago.” 

“Everyone is still searching for him… The whole building collapsed, Dorian,” Rudy looked up at him, and that blank expression almost scared him: he suddenly looked like any other MX. “Dorian…?”

The android blinked again, his eyes slowly changing, his face showing a mix of confusion and disbelief. “John didn’t survive?” he asked. “He died?” 

Rudy took a deep breath before talking. “They’re still searching. Maybe- I’m sure he’s…” Rudy left the sentence unfinished. After a brief silence, he added, “You tried your best, we know that- we all saw that. No one blames you for anything. Once I’ll get you out of here, we’ll join the research. I- I’m sure there’s still hope to find him.” 

Dorian said nothing. He suddenly felt- empty.

.- * -.

Dorian’s eyes were already open while his system started updating. Blinking and sitting up in one motion, he slowly scanned Rudy’s laboratory that was empty and silent. Looking down at himself, he was wearing the usual clothes.

Dorian immediately checked the news, and multiple titles quickly started appearing: _“Detective John Kennex’s body still not found”; “Police officer missing in action… The heroic man arrived first during the attack at the clinic and gave his life to…”_

“Hey.” 

He put the articles away and looked up. 

Detective Paul stared at him for a moment before saying, “I thought I would’ve never seen you up and working again.” There was no anger nor sarcasm into his voice- but he looked unsure when the android didn’t answer. “They reset you or something?” 

Dorian shook his head. “No, detective. I’m still… Me.” 

He nodded. “Alright…Well, I- I was looking for Rudy. Is he here or…?” 

“I don’t know. I wasn’t operative until a few minutes ago.” 

“I see… I’ll come back later, then.” 

Dorian watched him turning around to leave. “Detective.” He called, and the man stopped, looking back at him. “I am sorry.” 

“It's nothing important...” 

“Not about Rudy,” he continued, and the man looked clearly puzzled. “I mean- about John. I-” 

“We know what happened,” Paul interrupted, voice flat and serious. “The situation got very bad very quickly. Too quickly, even for someone like you.” 

Dorian said nothing, watching the detective leaving without saying anything else. _Someone like me…_

He slowly placed a hand over his chest, where humans have a heart, and where androids have nothing. There was no heartbeat, and Dorian wondered if John was just like him now.  
That thought made him clench the fabric even tighter. 

When Rudy came back, he smiled a bit finding the DRN sitting on a chair, but the blank expression on his face made that smile fade. 

Dorian looked up hearing footsteps and just stared at him. 

“Sorry, I- I know, it took quite some time to have you back and online.” Rudy said. “I asked to keep you as my assistant for a now… Temporarily, of course. Always better than being closed in a plastic bag, right?” 

The android said nothing, looking down again. 

Rudy sighed, moving closer. “You don’t deserve that. John would have never-“ he stopped, then continued, “Two months have been more than enough to clear your situation.” 

“And what is my situation now?” 

“Well, you are a perfectly functional DRN, so Captain Maldonado insisted to keep you in this district. Maybe back on the field, in the future.” 

“I’m not suitable for the field.” 

“What? No, you're-“ 

“I have failed in my duty. How can I-” 

“Dorian, that clinic was completely destroyed that day," Rudy stopped him, "The building doesn’t exist anymore. It took days to find you- it’s a miracle that you made it with a broken arm.” 

“I wasn’t the one that needed a miracle,” Dorian said, eyes down.

Rudy pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a moment before sitting next to him. “John knew the risks of his job, and that never stopped him from jumping face front into the danger.” 

“I just… I don’t understand…” 

“What you mean?” 

“Why he pushed me away?” Dorian said, sounding vaguely angry, “_He_ pushed me away. How I didn’t notice the danger before he did?” 

Rudy sighed. “He acted by instinct...” 

“But why did he saved _me_? I'm just an android.” 

Rudy felt tears forming into his eyes. He never heard Dorian talk about himself that way. “He did what he thought was right. He wanted to save a friend.” 

Dorian felt that mix of emotions forming into his chest again, strong enough to make him grasp tightly the edges of the chair. He looked down without saying anything else, and he barely talked during the next days. 

A week later his awaking, Dorian was called into Captain Maldonado’s office. 

It was evening, the police station half empty, and Dorian took the opportunity to stare at John’s desk for a moment, now empty. 

He forced himself to look away and move to the office. Knocking on the glass-door, he saw the Captain looking up and gesturing him to come in. He did, closed the door and stopped in front of the desk. 

Sandra Maldonado put her glasses down before looking at him. “It’s nice to see you, Dorian,” she said, voice soft as usual, but her eyes were a bit red. 

“Thank you, Captain. Rudy told me it is also thanks to you if I’m still operative.” 

“There was no reason to lose a good agent like you,” she smiled a bit, just for a moment. “I know it’s not easy to go back to our lives after what happened… That’s why doing our best now is even more important than before.” 

Dorian saw her blinking away the tears. “I am sorry, Captain.” He slowly said. “Protecting my partner was my duty. I have been reactivated just for that purpose, and I failed.” 

Sandra stared at him in mild surprise, then smiled a bit and shook her head, standing and taking his hand. “Dorian, you have saved John’s life many times before, and in many different ways. He was very aware of that, and so am I. Having you as a partner was the best thing that happened to him after the coma.” She gave him another little smile. “And I told the same thing to my superiors. I can’t assign you to another agent at the moment, but if you want-“ 

“Staying with Rudy is fine.” He said, maybe a bit too fast. 

“Of course. I hope to see you around here, from time to time. My door is always open for you.” 

Dorian nodded and turned to leave, but then stopped again. “Captain, can I ask you- if there are any updates about John?” 

She took a deep breath. “They haven’t found him yet. Few other victims are still missing as well… That’s all.” 

_Victims. John is a victim._ Dorian nodded again and left the office.

Few days passed after the meeting with the Captain, and everything seemed normal… Just, empty. As if nothing was important anymore. 

Dorian was staring out the window, at the sky getting darker. He never experienced this emptiness before. Not since he woke up to a grumpy detective threating to throw him out of the car once a day… Yet, he never did. 

It was as if something wasn’t right. As if the world lost the spark Dorian never noticed existed in the first place... How could John’s absence change everything around him so much? 

He considered ask Rudy about it, maybe something in his system was malfunctioning, but he was scared to doing so. 

“Over here… Yes, in there. On the table.” 

Dorian turned to the entrance of the lab, watching a few people bringing inside a human-sized, gray plastic bag that they placed on the table. 

“Are you sure you want to keep it?” One of the men asked Rudy that was right behind them. “It’s pretty much just trash.”

“Just because some people can’t make it work, doesn’t mean is trash… Here.” Rudy handed back the pad after signing it. “Thank you for your help.” He said and the three men nodded a salute and left. 

Dorian moved closer, staring at the bag. “What is this?” 

“Ah- probably just- unnecessary charity…” Rudy smiled a bit embarrassed, opening the zip of the plastic bag. “I little bird told me about him a few days ago. No ID or fabrications mark. They were going to disassemble it, to save what was still useful, so I- oh.” 

Dorian watched him spreading the bag open: inside there was an android with the appearance of a young man, around twenty years old; short black hair so in contrast with a pale skin covered with few cuts and scratches leaving the slim and silver wires beneath it exposed; he was wearing just a t-shirt and a ruined pair of trousers, barefoot. “What’s wrong?”

“I was expecting it to be a recent model... This is- a very, very old one.” Rudy murmured, scratching the back of his neck.

“Why did you bring him here?” 

“Well, let’s say that I know some people get easily tired of their androids and want to get rid of them just as fast…” he said, and Dorian simply stared blankly at him. “I mean, not too many people, and not that frequently, mind you. I just have ears around the city and I- I sometimes buy androids like this one and try to fix what I can. Better me than the black market, anyway.” 

A little smile appeared on Dorian’s face. “That is very kind of you, Rudy.”

“Yeah, well… That’s all I can do. Let’s see what happened to this one,” he said walking away to retrieve the equipment he needed. 

Dorian started a scan on the unknown android, but got no valid information, just as Rudy said. Unsure, he moved a hand over the android’s ear and put a finger into it: the body flinched and then his green eyes flashed open.

Rudy moved closer, looking between them with a box of tools in his arms. “What did you do?” 

“His activation system is similar to mine.”

“Really? He’s a DRN?” 

The unknown android blinked and sat in an instant, looking frantically around himself, at Rudy that slowly waved a hand at him, and then turning to the DRN next to him. 

“It’s alright. You’re safe here,” Dorian told him, but that scared look on the android’s face caught him off guard. 

“Cupcake…” The android breathed out, surprising them both with a relieved smile before clinging his arms around the android's chest. 

Dorian blinked, unsure, and looked at Rudy that seemed as much surprised as he was while saying, “I… I guess you got a new friend…?”

\- . - 

“…The bear can’t sing? Put the car in the fenced fridge!”

Rudy and Dorian kept staring at the mysterious android yelling and gesturing nervously in front of them with the same confused expression on their faces. 

“The midnight call! Booking for good?” he insisted, frantically looking between the two, sitting on the table where he just woke up. 

“I- I don’t…” Rudy started, not sure how to continue. “Well, at least we know why they wanted to throw him away.” 

“Defuse the plant?” the android asked, frowning. 

“I think his language program has been damaged. You think you can fix it?” Dorian asked.

“The hair doesn’t fit in the team!?” the android yelled angrily. 

“It’s alright,” Dorian tried to calm him down while moving in front of the mechanic that took a step back. “You are talking nonsense for us. We can’t understand what you’re saying, but we can try to fix your problem.” 

The android looked between them, visibly lost. “Volume to space ship…? Searching for the ice!” 

Dorian tried his best to find a logic in those random sentences, a code to crack, but all his researches got him to nothing. “I’m sure we will be able to fix it. He’s Rudy. I’m Dorian.” 

“Cats lost the fireplace…” the other groaned, sounding so defeated while passing both hands over his face. 

“Do you have a name?” 

“**The sky! Lock isn’t for pirates!** Pull the bottle at the sea!” He snapped jumping down the table, standing right in front of him- and then narrowed his eyebrows, unsure. “Green cooking bars…?”

“L-look, is not that bad,” Rudy tried to say, “If your system is similar to Dorian’s, I’m sure I can-” 

“Golden apples can’t reach the-“ He started yelling again, and then abruptly stopped, looking aside for a moment before running away, into the other room. 

“Ok... Well, this- this is something new.” Rudy commented getting a serious glare from Dorian before the DRN followed the android, finding him staring into a mirror, and asked, “Are you alright?” 

“Gray rocks in pain? ” the android murmured, staring angrily at his reflection.

“If you’d let us help-“ 

“The table won’t budge! Dolls are wild in the mist!” he yelled turning back to him. “Look at the dots, it doesn’t fit!” 

Dorian was feeling almost as frustrated as the other looked, so he explained again, “You are using random words in a not specific order that is impossible for me to understand. If you let us help, I’m sure we can find a way to communicate with you. Is that ok?” 

The android just looked at the mirror one last time before turning to him and nodding in silence.

Once sure that the situation was under control, Dorian left Rudy taking care of their _guest_ while he moved away to recharge. The unknown android tried to stop him, holding his arm and saying something else about birds and planets, but all Dorian could do was reassure him that there was no need to worry and that he could trust Rudy. 

Early in the morning, Dorian opened his eyes on the silent laboratory, finding Rudy sleeping on a chair with a tablet still in hand. He approached him, gently grabbing his shoulder. “Rudy?” 

“-the connection… Huh… Oh, good morning, Dorian.” 

“Good morning. Is everything alright? What happened to him?” he asked looking at the android laying on the table, unmoving. “Is he…?” 

“Deactivated. He’s fine, I just- it was making me nervous, so I… I turned him off.” Rudy admitted, a bit ashamed.

“What you mean?” 

“Well, he… After you left, he started talking again- talking nonsense, that is,” he explained standing up and moving closer to the table, “And he was very talkative too. I think he asked me something, but I couldn’t understand what, so he got angrier. Then he jumped down the table to use the computer...” 

“The computer?” 

“Yes, but- I guess his system is more damaged than it seems because he clearly had no idea of how to use it... He started smashing on the keyboard so I decided to turn him off.” Rudy let out a deep breath. “I didn’t want to, but I thought the situation was going out of control…” 

“You did the right thing,” Dorian nodded, staring at the younger android and his completely blank face, eyes still open. “Still, I don’t think his system is that old. He should be able to use this technology.” 

“That’s what I thought, but he was totally lost in front of the screen. He kind of looked surprised himself…” 

“Did you do more tests? Found anything out of the ordinary?” 

“Yes I- It was taking a while, so I let them run during the night. They should be done by now.” Rudy moved to his desk and checked the computer. “Well, this is unexpected…” 

“What is?” 

“It says that I’m not authorized into the system.” Rudy turned the chair to face him. “It blocked all the tests before they even started.” 

Dorian looked between him and the android. “Is it possible that someone upgraded his system. Maybe he has been hacked?” 

“Or someone _tried to_ and failed, so they got rid of it…” Rudy murmured thoughtfully. “I mean, why bother to hack and android to prevent him from using a computer? Or a pen. He can’t even write, we tried that too while you were asleep.” Rudy stood up and would have fallen forward if Dorian didn’t support him. 

“Rudy, you should rest. I’ll stay here and check on him. Maybe I can find a breach into the system.” 

“No… No, I don’t want you to get damaged by whatever strange thing is inside this guy's skull. I’ll try again later.” 

Dorian smiled a bit, appreciating the concern. “Ok, but now go get some rest.” 

“Alright... Wake him up if you want, but be careful. And call me if you need.” 

Dorian nodded, watching him walking into the office. Once alone, he looked down at the android and scanned him, but the result was still the same: no identification code, no fabrications marks, and access to the system denied. After contemplating what to do for a moment, Dorian decided to activate him again. 

Those empty, black eyes suddenly shined green and the young android bolted awake, holding on Dorian’s arm for dear life, “Mistakes flying low?”

“It’s alright-“ 

“Colors dancing down the cliff?!” 

“I need you to calm down. Please.” Dorian insisted, his voice even and low enough to not alarm Rudy. “I still can’t understand what you’re saying.” He added.

The android slowly shook his head in defeat, letting him go. 

“Let me take these off of you so you can sit,” Dorian said. 

The android seemed to notice only then the wires attached to his neck, quickly turning the other way, looking almost horrified. 

Once finished, Dorian help him sit up and they stared at each other for a while. Blue streaks crossed Dorian’s face again, but, no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t get any information. “Rudy turned you off because you seemed upset. He was worried for his own safety.” He explained, but the other just stayed silent, eyes down. “We need more information about you, but your system doesn’t allow us to get them. Do you know why?” 

“Party never drown behind the rainbow.” The android commented coldly. 

Dorian considerate more options. “I have a few programs to try that maybe could help me understand what you’re saying. Please, keep talking.” 

The android looked up, a tired expression on his face. “Heartless eating yellow?” 

Dorian blinked once. “Again.” 

“Catch the handle going south? Guitars never fades?”

“One more time, please.” 

The android sighed, studying him up and down. “Moonlight tours always on icecream.” 

“None of my programs seem to work,” Dorian said, frustration creeping into his voice. “I can’t detect any possible translation... Still, you can understand what I say, correct?” 

The android’s eyes quickly moved back on him, a hopeful expression appearing on his face. “Grave putting underwater! Cloud can always-“

“Nod for yes and shake your head for no, please.” Dorian interrupted, making him sigh nervously, but also nod. “Good. We have a starting point.” 

“Flowers sleep on the book.” The android commented, waiting. 

Dorian considered how to proceed. “Do you know what day is it?”

“Points blue… Finding waves?” he asked back, but then remembered the rules and shook his head in no.

“Today is September the 14th. The year is 2049.” Dorian informed, and saw him staring for a second before his eyes got wider. 

“Street coaled in questions…?” the android murmured. 

“Do you have any memory of the time before you were reactivated here?” Dorian asked, and the answer was another nod. 

“Follow the fan, never been in the pond.” The android said scooting a bit towards him, apparently eager to answer. 

Dorian held his gaze, wondering what John would ask an android unable to talk. “Your system is heavily locked and that is preventing us from fixing your problem. Someone installed some kind of protection into it?” he asked, and the answer was a shrug, clearly standing for _I don’t know_. “You know who might have done it?” A pause, then the android nodded slowly: _maybe_. “Is the same people that threw you away?” 

The android almost tried talking again, but then shut his mouth and looked down, unsure. 

“You don’t know?” Dorian came to his help and he shook his head. “Did they use you as an experiment?” 

“Cut the table.” He commented with a sarcastic tone, and then sighed, nodding. 

Dorian kept staring in silence, and when their eyes met, he said, “You don’t seem to act like a normal android.” 

“Write fishes on the sky…” the other replied rising his eyebrows before looking down again.

Dorian could see his frustration miles away. He curiously noticed him look down and rub a hand over his left knee. “Rudy said your system blocked all his tests. We are going to try again today and-”

“Frame the sea over the-!” the other snapped, but then stopped, staring at him, “Reading plants never going to end.” He said moving closer and grabbing his hand. 

Dorian let him, but just stared back. “I will try to help as I can.” He said, but the android shook his head again and placed Dorian’s hand over his hair, staring intently at the DRN that started to understand. “You want me to check into your system?” He asked, and the other nodded. “We considered that option, but we need to know more about you before trying that.” 

The android just kept staring, slowly letting him go. “Car will be roofing the tree…” he said with a serious voice. 

A beeping sound came from the other room, and Dorian was the first breaking eye contact. “Wait here.” He said before turning to check the screens. He wondered why talking to that mysterious android felt so different. Rudy was probably right: they needed to make more tests, and then-

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and then an alarm started ringing, making Rudy ran back into the lab, still half asleep “W- what happened?” he asked, noticing the unknown android was gone and then saw Dorian close to the exit, where the glass door had been destroyed. “Where’s the android?” 

“He escaped,” Dorian said moving back to him. 

“What? Oh no…” Rudy sighed, staring at the door. “Ok, we- we need to find him. He’s under my care, now. If something happens-“

“I’ll go after him-” 

“Wait! I- I’ve put a tracker on him before, just in case. We can follow the signal…” he said moving to the computer.

“Send me the info.” 

“Ah- ok. Be careful!” Rudy yelled, but he was already gone.

Once outside the building, Dorian received the tracker’s signal from Rudy a second later and he started running.

After a while, he started seeing the signs of the android escape: two cars stopped in the middle on the road and people pointing down the street; he then saw the table of the bar fallen aside, with people trying to help others to stand… The mysterious android was still running, but it didn’t seem he wanted to hurt anyone- not intentionally, at least.

Dorian slowed down to help few people as well before continuing the chase on a bridge. Once on the other side, he saw the android a few meters away. “Wait!” 

The other turned around and then keep running. 

Dorian could keep the android on sight now, still, where he was heading was a mystery. He kept following him down the street, then up an emergency ladder that led them on a roof, and then more stairs, going higher, until the android froze for a second before jumping down the second roof.  
Dorian was getting closer now, and when he followed, landing on another building, he would have caught him if the android didn’t suddenly drop on his knees and opened a window placed beneath him, disappearing inside the building. 

Dorian stopped for a second before jumping after him- and the android was there, standing in the dark living room. “Why you tried to escape? We just want to help.” Dorian said, “You put people in danger-“ he stopped as his system scanned the area and informed him of their current location: they were inside John Kennex’s apartment. The house was silent, everything just as John left it the last time, but with a layer of dust on it. 

Unsure, Dorian blinked and tried to focus. “Why did you come here?” 

“Wind stopped running over the sea...” The android said with a low and serious voice, without turning around. 

“You know this place?” 

“CATCH THE SMOKE!” He yelled again, looking at him with such anger and frustration. “Flying ropes aren’t made to eat!” 

Dorian kept scanning him, blue streaks flashing on his face, but none of those words made any sense. “You know who used to live here?” 

The android tried to calm down and nodded. 

“How?” he asked, but the other just looked around, spreading his arms and letting them fall down, unable to answer. “You know that person is dead?” 

“The grass will burn, nothing falls down!” The android insisted, stepping closer. “Barking on the stage- the shirt will land too far!” 

Dorian’s eyes widened a bit and he grabbed him by the arm. “You know what happened to him? You know something about the accident that killed him?” 

The android was ready to yell again, but then stopped, holding him the same way, but his voice turning lower and desperate, “Break the film before losing the rope.” 

“Freeze!” Two police officers break into the apartment then, guns in hand, aiming at the two androids. “Both of you!” 

“Officers.” Dorian salute them turning around and scanning their IDs. 

“I said don’t move!” 

“I’m the assistant of Doctor Rudy Loom. He has sent us here to retrieve some documents.” 

“Documents?” One of them said, “You know who this place belongs to?” 

“This is John Kennex’s apartment. Yes, I’m aware.” Dorian nodded. “I was his partner.” 

The two agents shared a look, then one of them said. “I’ll call Doctor Loom. You take them in custody and deactivate them until-” 

“Choke on a tree!” The android angrily shot back. 

The officer that was moving closer took a step back, unsure. “What the hell?” 

“He has problems speaking. Doctor Loom has to fix it as soon as we get back.” Dorian tried to reassure him, stepping in front of the other. “Please, there’s no need to deactivate us. If you call him-“ 

“You better shut your mouth.” The other agent said, grabbing the radio while turning to his friend saying, “Don’t let them out,” before going outside the apartment.

Dorian spared a quick look to the other android that was staring at the desk where John left his notes about new and old cases.

The other agent kept talking on the radio until he nodded and walked back inside. “Doctor Loom confirmed the story,” he told his friend and then looked at Dorian, “We’ll escort you back to the station once you’re done here. Be quick.” That said, they both moved just outside the door. 

Dorian nodded. “We should-“ turning to the android, he saw him quickly entering John’s bedroom. Following, he felt that strange pain again looking at the room, and the clothes left on the bed… He realized that John never came back there after that tragic day either. 

The sound of something ripping apart made him turn to the corner where the android was kneeling on the floor. “What are you doing?” Dorian felt anger at the thought of something that belonged to John being destroyed, and he harshly grabbed the android’s shoulder, trying to pull him back, but the other get free and pushed him away instead, making him fall down. Ready to start a fight, Dorian was taken aback when the android moved closer, almost on top of him.

“Coffee on the salad,” the android said, handing an old music magazine, “Sing it? Never going up!”

Confused, Dorian studied the magazine, staring at the disco ball occupying the front cover- and then, the android put the fragments he just ripped away from another page on it: it was the face of a random person. A singer, from the ID scan he did on it. “I don’t-” 

“Jump the cross!” the android insisted pointing at the _collage_ he made. “Smile the writing point!”

Dorian tried his best to find a connection. “I should know this person?” he asked looking at the singer’s face, and the android looked down, shaking his head before pointing at the cover and then at Dorian’s face. 

“I don’t see how a disco ball and a face can be related to-” Dorian suddenly stopped, streaks flashing over his face as he connected those words to a memory of the past. “Disco face…” he murmured and the other smiled hopefully, grabbing his arm, nodding. “Only one person called me like that,” he said, intently studying every inch, every detail of the unknown android, and, slowly, all those expressions and reactions started to feel familiar… 

“Butterfly lies.” The android said, a plead into his voice as he bumped his free hand against his own chest. “Follow the dice... Never going to jump the cat.” 

Dorian kept staring at him, this time no streaks appearing on his face. He tiled his head bit, narrowing his eyebrows, unsure, as an absurd idea hit him. “…John? It’s you?” 

The android’s shoulders dropped in relief as he smiled more and nodded, holding his arm even tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A part of me is regretting posting this, but the other part is full-on YOLO mode


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bless you, Gil, for the help x)

“Ok… I think we’re good for now,” Rudy said walking inside the lab, passing through the broken door. “No one was hurt and we kept the damages on minimum, so…” looking up, he found Dorian staring between him and the other android, visibly nervous. “Please, if someone died, I need to know.” 

“No, no one was hurt, but… I think he might be- John.” Dorian said. 

Rudy opened his mouth, closed it and then tried again, “What? What do you mean?” 

“This android,” Dorian said looking between them. “I can’t give you a logical explanation, but I think this android might be John.” He continued, while Rudy was so confused he couldn’t even articulate an answer. “I know it sounds crazy…” 

“Wait- wait, wait…” Rudy stopped him raising a hand, sparing a brief look at the other android sitting on the table, between them. “Dorian, are you trying to say that this android _is_ John? Our John?” 

“I know he’s not, physically speaking, but he showed me something only John knew.” 

Rudy took a deep breath, shaking his head. “Dorian…” 

“You can’t deny the way he’s acting is strange-“ 

“He’s acting like a damaged android.” Rudy stopped him, angry like he rarely was. “I was already considering that probably someone hacked him to be- to _act_ so weird. He could be a weapon, for all we know.” 

“Miss the ship?” the unknown android commented, sarcastically lifting his eyebrows. 

“I understand that it’s hard to believe, but-“ Dorian continued.

“Indeed, it is.” Rudy interrupted again. “I know you suffered a lot because of John’s death. We all did. We still do. This is… How can you even think of something like this? And expect me to believe it?” 

“I’m just-“ Dorian tried to insist, but Rudy already walked away. He saw the other android jumping down to follow. “John-“ he called, unable to stop himself, and the android turned around at the name, making everything more difficult. “You are not lying, are you?” 

The android sighed and shook his head in no.

“Then let me talk to Rudy. Alone.” Dorian said, stopping him when he tried to follow. “He’s right... I should have been more considerate about this. Just give us a moment.” He added, and the other nodded, while the DRN entered the office, finding the mechanic standing in front of the desk. 

Rudy looked briefly back at him before looking down at the robotic butterfly on his hand. “Why? Just tell me why you want to bring John into this?”

“Please. If you try to talk to him one more time-“ 

“What if I don’t want to? What makes you think that I want to play this- this sick game?” 

“It is not a game. It’s the truth.” 

“The truth is that John is dead. He’s not-” 

“He called me disco-face.” Dorian said. “Only John knew that joke. He’s the only one that ever called me like that. The first time was during a case, and there was no one else with us.” 

Rudy just sighed again, leaving the butterfly on the table, “He can’t talk. How did he-“ 

“He used this.” Dorian handed him the magazine he was keeping under the jacket. “And if this is not enough, after he escaped, he ran straight to John’s house. He knew where it was, and he did all he could to make me understand.” 

Rudy stared at the cover and the fragments of paper, the face, just for a few seconds. “And you believe him because of this?” 

“He’s desperate-”

“He’s just scared of being destroyed.” 

Dorian wanted to insist, but watching Rudy dropping the magazine on the table, looking so sad, it made him hesitate. What if Rudy was right? What if the android was just trying to save itself? "Then why he didn't try to leave the city? Why he-"

A loud bang interrupted him, and then several more. 

“What else is he destroying now?” Rudy sighed running back. Once in the lab, they both looked up, on the second floor, where the android just cracked a door open. “Oh no…” 

“I’ll stop him.” Dorian said running upstairs. 

“There’s nothing valuable in there!” Rudy yelled at the android that started throwing random stuff out. 

“Please, would you stop?” Dorian moved to grab his shoulder, but the android pushed him away, making him sway against the banister before throwing something big downstairs. 

Rudy jumped back and behind the table: all of them watched the now half-broken wheelchair laying on one side on the laboratory’s floor. 

“Build the moon to wreck?” The android yelled at Rudy before jumping back down as if it was nothing. “Slam the necklace into the fire doesn’t watch your six!” 

Rudy blinked, staring at the wheelchair and then up at the android. “How did you know…?” 

“Bottom the sea before!” he shot back, but then tried to calm down. 

Dorian reached them downstairs, carefully following the discussion. 

Rudy kept his eyes on the android. He then swallowed before speaking. “So I should believe it? I should believe that- that _this_ is you? That you’re- that you are John Kennex?” he asked, but the other just dropped his shoulders in frustration. Rudy stared at the wheelchair for a moment, and then asked, “How many days it took me to convince John to use it?” 

The android looked at him and then raised a hand, showing five fingers. 

Rudy took a little step back. “The longest five days of my life…” he murmured. “John, this is… It’s really you?” he asked and, as he nodded, Rudy moved forward to hug him. “Oh God, how- how is this possible?” he continued asking, moving back just enough to study him, “Is this a new technology? It shouldn’t even exist! You- you should be dead!” and then he just hugged him again.

John sighed, patting his arm, realized it was the first time he saw Dorian smiling since the day of the accident.

It was late afternoon when Dorian came back to the lab with two coffee and something to eat. Walking through the door he fixed, he found John still sitting on a chair, face dropped into his hands, while Rudy was standing in front of him, feverishly checking something on a tablet. “Are you done with the questions, Rudy?” he asked. 

“What? Oh. Yes. Yes, I… I think twenty-seven correct answer about John’s private life should be enough.” He said looking up and smiling at John that looked exhausted. “Thank you.” He added as the DRN handed him the coffee. 

Dorian nodded giving the other cup to John that moved to grab it.

“Ah- I wouldn’t drink that,” Rudy said. 

They both stopped, looking at him and then at each other. “Right… You don’t need to drink or eat now.” Dorian said, staring at the cup, wondering how did he make such a mistake. 

“Seems to go through the bars of flowers,” John sighed with a tired smile.

Rudy watched the interaction like it was something coming from another planet. 

Dorian placed the cup on the desk and saw him starting pacing left and right. “Are you ok, Rudy?” 

“Ah… Yes. Actually, no. No, maybe I… I need to sit down.” He said and just did that. 

Dorian took a step closer, sharing a look with John, that just shrugged a bit, making it clear that he had no idea how to handle this. 

“He shouldn’t-“ Rudy started, then looked directly at John, “You shouldn’t be here. Especially, not like this. You- let me show you,” he said rolling the chair in front of another screen that quickly filled with articles about the incident at the clinic and John’s death. “Not to be rude, but we haven’t found your body it yet, and it’s been almost three months now. You shouldn’t…” Rudy took another deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. 

Dorian watched John staring at the news, surprised for a moment, but then he looked away and stayed quiet. 

“How is this even possible?” Rudy then asked looking at them. “If this is real- if you really are John Kennex, how… How _this_ happened?” 

“Stand the pillow underwater?” John sighed with a tired expression on his face. 

“We can ask him,” Dorian said. “He can’t talk, but he can read, and understand what we say. Yes or no questions might be helpful to the investigation.” 

Rudy breathed out, watching John nodding vigorously. “Ok… yeah, we can do that. We need answers- we really do. I do.” He said, thinking for a second. “Do you remember the day of the accident?”

John nodded. 

“What about the explosion? You saw what happened after?” Dorian asked, but John just shrugged. “You saw something but you don’t remember what exactly?” He tried to help, and John nodded again. 

“Someone found you before us, clearly,” Rudy said, and John nodded again. He shared a tense look with Dorian that then asked, “Do you saw them? Do you know them?” 

John thought for a moment but then shook his head in no.

“Well, we can consider this as progress.” Rudy said leaning against the back of the chair, thinking. 

“The kidnappers must have been around the clinic that same day. High changes it was the same people responsible for the attack,” Dorian said. 

“You think?” 

“The reports say that the rescue team started looking for John twenty minutes after the building collapsed. Whoever kidnapped him was already in that area.” 

Rudy crossed his arms. “We know they were looking for components in those labs… They have stolen a few,” he added as John looked puzzled, “No one was arrested, but three of the thieves died in the explosions. I don’t know if kidnapping you was part of the plan...” 

“Dragging the planet around?” John asked gesturing at himself. 

Rudy sighed before standing up and grabbing a scanner that he proceeded to use on him. “Maybe they just needed someone to test whatever they stole from the clinic… And clearly is something they don’t want to share with anyone,” Rudy continued, checking the results. “Your body is- this body is an android, no doubt about it. There are no human elements inside of it.” 

John and Dorian both frowned saying, “Human elements?” and “Rainbow parrot?” at the same time. 

“Yes… I mean, the first thing I thought was that they might have had transplanted your brain into this android… Something like that.” 

John just groaned, looking away. 

“It was the most reasonable explanation I could think of considering the situation, but that’s not the case- luckily for you, and my sanity,” Rudy added. 

“Then why you sound like is not good news?” Dorian asked, worried. 

Rudy took a deep breath, studying John. “If this android is just an android, it means that John must be connected to it somehow, to act like- like himself. I mean, his memories are still there. Into his- into this head, but…” 

“Lion dance in the cloudy river?” John commented, his voice low and serious. 

“You mean that if he’s alive, those people are keeping John's body somewhere?” Dorian asked and Rudy nodded. “Then I should try to break into his system.” He stated. 

“Dorian…” 

“It might be our only chance to find him.” 

“You saw that whoever did transfer John’s conscience into this android has put defenses in there too. It could destroy you before even trying.” Rudy insisted. 

“I can handle it.” 

“You don’t know that. _I_ don’t know that either.” 

“But if he’s still alive-“ Dorian stopped as John grabbed his arm, shaking his head in no. “John, this is the only lead we have! It’s been months already, what if they’re hurting you?” 

“Room isn’t shining for life,” John said.

“If I can obtain the information we need-“ 

“The fan is drowning!” John barked, holding his arm even tighter. 

Dorian seemed to understand the answer was negative because he just nervously looked down. 

“I have a better idea,” Rudy said, “Why don’t you take John to the clinic? Visiting that place, he might remember something… Some details we didn’t notice.” 

Dorian turned to John that nodded.

“And while you two are there, I’ll try put together something to use as a test to check John’s system- I mean, this android’s system,” Rudy added standing up. He saw Dorian staring at John with a serious expression, so he added, “I know you want to help him, but we can’t rush this, ok? As you said, this is the only lead we have. We can’t take any risk of losing it.” 

Dorian slowly nodded. “I’ll go get the car and wait outside.” He said, walking away. 

Rudy sighed, and then looked at John that was staring at the android. “We really need you back. Especially him,” he said. “I still don’t know what is happening here, but… Dorian seems to be himself again because of you. And that’s a good sign.” 

John smiled a bit, patting on his back once before leaving. 

Rudy’s eyes get a bit watery watching him walk away, and he quickly rubbed the tears away, turning to the computer and start working.

The trip to the clinic was silent, with Dorian keeping his eyes on the road and John looking outside, at the city lights shining in the early night. 

Dorian double-checked that the area was safe, but noticed John looking at him time to time, just for a moment. There was a lot he wanted to talk about, but, if someone really was keeping John as a hostage, using him as an experiment of some sort, all he had to focus on was find a way to save him. 

“Plain the red air,” John said after a long moment. 

“What?” Dorian quickly closed the data he was reading, briefly looking at him, noticing the tired expression on his face. “Right. I should be the one keeping the conversation going. Sorry.” 

“Reading beware the signs...” John said gesturing at the radio. 

“No, it's alright... I was thinking about this whole situation," Dorian said. "I’m sure we will find you and bring you back home soon.” Their eyes met, but John said nothing, just nodded slightly before looking down again. “I will do all I can to save you, John.” 

“Color the shirt on tomatoes…” He snorted, smiling a bit. 

“Hey… John?” Dorian started, not sure that it was the right moment to talk about it, “About what happened that day-” he tried to continue, but the car informed they reached their destination at the same time. As the engine turned off, John didn’t move, staring at him, waiting. Dorian slowly shook his head, “We’ll talk about it later.” 

John waited another second before nodding and hopping off the car, the DRN silently following. 

Most of the clinic had been rebuilt already, only a few machineries still around it, on the other side of the electric fence protecting the whole area. There was no sign of the explosion anymore, and, at that hour, the only noise was the traffic on the road not too far and the low _humm_ of the electricity. 

Dorian saw John standing in front of the fence, looking forward. Moving next to him, he scanned the area for a moment before recalling the memories of the last time he saw John- the real John, alive. Putting the records away, he looked at the _android version_ of his friend. “We can’t enter now, but I’ve sent a request already. Maybe tomorrow we-“ 

“Run into the woods under the snow?” John asked, looking at him with a serious expression. “July dwells the ruins. Fires on the horizon.” 

Dorian could easily recognize that determination- and that stubbornness. It was so like John… So like John that he didn’t know how to react for a moment. “I still can’t understand what you say.” 

The other sighed and looked away, slowly wandering next to the fence. 

“John.” Dorian called and he stopped, turning around. “What I wanted to say before, about the day of the accident...” he looked down in frustration, as the system warned his battery was on 25%. 

“Lost echo didn’t sing?” John patiently asked. 

“What you did was stupid. And reckless!” Dorian blurted out, making the other blink in surprise. “I have been deactivated for months, and only after all that time Rudy told me what happened you. He helped me remember because they took my memories as well!” 

“The cat?” John moved closer again, looking confused. 

“He told me you were dead and I was- I was here, without you. Without any idea of what to do, and I don’t like feeling that way. It’s- it was strange, and I shouldn’t feel like that, but I thought that I deserved it because you were dead because of my mistake, and now- now I’m trying to believe that this is you, but maybe it’s just me wishing something like this could be real.” Dorian sadly continued, while the other android stared in silence. “Would _you_ believe something like this?” 

John looked so hurt, but he held his gaze saying, “The crystal sing the hymn,” with a low, sad voice. 

Dorian felt that strange feeling again- guilt? sorrow?- and just stared at him, as if he suddenly would have been able to understand him.

“Time the concert over,” John said, grabbing his arm, pleading with his eyes. “Fulfill the dream. It will shiver.” 

Dorian kept listening to those words that he knew meant something important. Then, he saw John looking past him, eyes suddenly widening before he pushed him away and, while falling, the loud noise of something cracking filled the air; the screeching of a car right after.

Looking up, Dorian saw a vehicle on top of the hill leaving as full speed into the road. Turning to John, he found him on his side, on the ground. “John?” he called, quickly moving next to him: turning him around, he found part of his face destroyed, sparks crackling in the dim light, and a hole in his shirt, blue fluid flowing out. 

"C-call the eagle?” John asked, his voice altered and jumpy. 

Dorian quickly made a scan of him, finding a few components damaged. “I can’t fix this. I need to take you back to Rudy!” 

John patted his own face, flinching as he touched the large crack on the left side of it, and his expression suddenly changed. “Melting sun…” he murmured, “Distortion ahead…” 

“Your system is going to-“ 

“Fly over the-” 

“John, listen to me,” Dorian said firmly grabbing his wrists in each hand. “I have to turn you off until we’ll be back to Rudy's.” He continued, but the other just shook his head, trying to break free. “If I don’t do that and your system shut down, it could get permanently damaged! I’ll make sure to keep it working, but-” 

“Hope hide the bag!” John got free just to hold onto his shirt, “Jungle isn’t-” he murmured before his whole body became rigid. 

Dorian kept checking his status while calling Rudy that answered almost immediately. “Rudy, John needs help. Someone was following us at the clinic. They tried to destroy us.”

“What on Earth happened?!” Rudy gasped as Dorian let John’s body on the table. 

“Someone shoot at us. I couldn't see who. I was talking to him and then-“ 

“Ok. Ok, let me see…” Rudy quickly started to check on the other android, eyes still open but empty. 

“What can I do?” Dorian asked moving around him. “Is it bad? Can I-“ 

“Dorian, I know you want to help, but you need to go charge yourself.” 

“What? No! I can help you! I can-“ 

“I really need to focus if we want to keep his system going. I can’t deal with him and you both.” 

Dorian knew he was right, they both knew how emotional he could get with his battery running low. “If anything happens, promise me you will wake me up.” 

“I will.” Rudy nodded solemnly, but the other didn’t move, keeping his eyes on John. “There are high chances he’s gonna make it,” he added, getting his attention again. “It looks worse than it really is.” 

Dorian nodded and slowly moved away. The last thing he saw was John lying on that table, unmoving. He wondered if he was going to lose him again… Unable to help, just like the last time.

. - . 

Opening his eyes again, Dorian first noticed his battery level was on 96%, and then saw Rudy standing next to him.

“Wake you up as promised,” he said, visibly tired. 

“Something happened to John?” Dorian asked reaching the android still lying on the table. 

“He’s alright,” Rudy said. “I’ve changed the damaged parts- nothing vital, luckily, and, well… He’s fine and recharged for now.” 

Dorian could see John’s face has been fixed, the lines marking the broken area barely visible, and his eyes were closed. He did a scan, just to know everything he needed without asking Rudy to explain. Then, he turned to his friend, head down, hands tangled together, and moved to sit next to him. “You saved him.” 

“I did?” Rudy smiled tiredly. “I don’t- we don’t even know what he is. What this android is, and now people are hunting him down?” 

“You saw my records?” 

“Yes… Sorry, but I needed to know. And you needed to recharge.” 

Dorian nodded. “Whoever those people are, if they’re ready to risk so much to destroy him, it must mean something, right?” 

“Yeah, it means that you almost got destroyed as well.” 

“I don’t think they were after me.” 

“Maybe not, but they didn’t care about you standing in the middle of the fight either. I saw it. If John didn't see them in time-“ 

“He did it again.” Dorian murmured, briefly looking at the android. “Rudy, he saved me again. John saved me, just like the last time.” 

The doctor took a deep breath but said nothing. 

“Why? Why he keep doing that?” 

“If he really is John, then you should already know the answer.” He said, but the DRN kept staring, waiting for an explanation. “That’s just how John works. He cares about his friends, even if pretends he doesn't.” 

“But I don’t want him to risk his life for me.” Dorian insisted. “He knows it’s dangerous. He… He was scared, Rudy.” 

The other nodded. “Yeah, I saw that too.” 

“I need to turn him off to keep him safe, but as I said that, he looked- terrified.” 

“Can you blame him?” Rudy said, leaning against the back of the chair, and he got another stare in response. “I mean, for you is normal, but for him- if this is actually a human being somehow stuck in the body of an android, I bet it would be scary being _turned off and on_ all the time. I have no idea what happens to him when he’s not awake… What it feels like.” 

Dorian was surprised by that thought. Looking back at John, he tried to imagine his friend's reaction to something like that; how a human being could rationalize such a thing. “He was so scared and I couldn't do anything…” 

“There was nothing you could do,” Rudy said. “The system was failing. You did a great job keeping him into sleep mode. If the system had shut down, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to keep to fix it... Considering how his system still blocks me out.” 

Dorian rewatched the records of the car that shoot at them, and anger started to bloom, as he couldn’t spot any details or information from the brief three seconds he spent looking at the vehicle before it vanished into the traffic. “I was looking the other way. I didn't see them until John pushed me away. He was looking behind me... Maybe he saw something.” 

“Maybe, but his system is still under high protection.” 

“You said you were going to find another way to check him up?” 

“In theory…” Rudy sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “I’m not sure that is going to work, but it’s worth the shot…” 

They both turned when the android gasped, sitting up on the table, awake, nervously looking around. 

“Did he woke up by himself?” Rudy murmured standing up. 

“John?” Dorian called, quickly moving next to him, and the second their eyes met, John grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and punched him strong enough to send him against the desk, a multitude of objects crashing on the pavement. 

“Guts burning-“ John growled standing and punching him in the face again, holding him on the floor, “Fight the eyes over the ocean!” he yelled, kneeling on top of the DRN to block him. 

“John- John, stop!” Rudy called, but he wasn’t listening. 

“Flames into the box! No one saw the knife-?!” 

“Dorian didn’t turn you off!” Rudy yelled, grabbing John’s arm before he could hit again, and the android turned to him. “If you’re angry about that, he didn’t! Dorian only put you in sleep-mode after your system started to shut down itself. He had no other choice!” 

John kept staring at him for a moment, then looked down at DRN, at the bruises he caused on his cheek, where part of the skin was now gone, showing the silver metal beneath. 

“I couldn’t risk losing you again,” Dorian said, arms down, not even trying to fight back, nor defend himself. “I’m sorry.” 

John didn’t move for a moment, then free himself from Rudy and stood up, walking away, into the other room. 

Rudy breathed out and moved to help the other stand up. “Are you ok?” 

“I should go talk to him…” 

“Better let him calm down a bit, first,” Rudy said and Dorian slowly nodded, feeling guiltier than ever.

A few hours later, when the sun was just about to rise, Dorian was still checking the records of the shooting, controlling all the cameras available in that area to find traces of the car, but got no luck. All he knew was that the car was gray. 

A warning interrupted his research, about an anomaly from one of his battery. He started a full check-up and frowned in confusion. Moving to a mirror, he turned a bit and found the problem: a screwdriver thrust into his back. 

Dorian realized it probably happened during the fight with John. He removed his jacket and tried his best to get a good grab on the object, but it was slightly out of reach. 

Something clattering on the floor in the other room made him turn around. Since he was in full alert, he moved to check, finding John sitting on top of a table in front of the window, a knife on the floor, at his feet, and few sparkles flying out of his arm. “John?” he called moving closer, noticing a long cut all over his arm, the blue wires shining beneath the silicon skin. “Why did you do this?” he asked, but the other didn’t answer, angrily staring at his own arm. 

Dorian quickly scanned the cut, then took the silicone spray on the desk and grabbed his arm, fixing the skin. “Please, don’t damage your body.” 

“Whispers don’t sing…” John murmured without looking up.

“Just because you’re android, that doesn’t mean you can destroy yourself. This body is the only lead we have to find you.” 

“Wooden stickers aboard?” 

Dorian spotted the sarcasm into his voice, and when their eyes met, he just said, “Don’t do it again,” sounding angrier than usual. “I don’t… I don’t want to see you getting hurt anymore.” He added more calmly, finishing to use the spray. 

John just stared at him, at the bruise still visible on his cheek. “Book lover.” He said, but the other didn’t look up, so he tapped on his hand to get his attention, pointing at his cheek. 

“I’ll fix it later. It’s-” Dorian said, but John took the spray and, keeping his chin up with a hand, used it to cover the bruise with a new layer of fake skin. Dorian kept quiet, turning a bit, so he could work better.

Once done, John put the spray down but stopped halfway, eyes going wide noticing the object thrust into his back. “Shipping trance?” he asked pointing at it.

“I fall on it before. Rudy will take care of it.” 

“Sewing the light?” John asked, looking worried. 

“It’s nothing.” 

“Emerald thinking?” 

“John, I can’t understand _everything_ you say.” 

John let out a tired, nervous groan and patted on himself before grabbing the screwdriver, staring at him, waiting. 

“You want to remove it?” Dorian finally catch up and the other nodded. “You can, or I'll ask Rudy later.” 

John slowly shook his head, holding him by his side to make him turn a bit, facing the window, and then, he carefully pulled out the object. 

Dorian kept looking on the left and down at him, unmoving during the whole process. He watched John put the screwdriver away and then pull his shirt up, checking the damage. He could see John staring intently at it, keeping a hand on his back. “Rudy told me that _being turned off_ can be traumatic for humans. Is it, for you?” 

“Nails turning glass,” John snorted, moving his hands away. “Deleting the day never goes upwards.” 

“John, I don’t-“ 

He sighed nervously and grabbed his hand, placing it against his chest, where a heart should’ve been. “Writing codes on the smoke? Hunt the windows for luck.” 

Dorian stared at him, down at his chest, and slowly understood. “No heartbeat.” 

John nodded, letting him go, but it was Dorian the one holding hand now, and he was surprised to see the DRN so concerned. 

“I want to believe that you’re not dead, John,” Dorian said. “I know this situation must be terrible for you, but I do think that we can save you. You are alive. Otherwise, this body wouldn’t move. You must be controlling it, somehow… No one else would be so stupid to risk their life for me.” 

“Icecream?” he snorted. 

“I… I don’t want you to die, John. Not for me, nor for anyone else.” He continued. “When I woke up and you were not there… It was different. I was different, and I- I don’t like that.” 

John kept staring, too surprised to say anything. 

“I can’t fully understand the fear you are you feeling now, but… Maybe having you waiting for me to wake up every day, it made it easier. I want to do the same for you, now, so that you won't have to feel scared.” Blue streaks slowly crossed Dorian’s face, as a warm, strange sensation grew into his chest. “I promise, I’ll be here every time you wake up until we-” 

John grasped his jacket and pulled Dorian forward into a kiss, almost making him fall over, and John wouldn’t have cared one bit: he moved both hands around Dorian’s head, through his hair, dragging him into the kiss as strong and deep as he could because he needed that- maybe they both needed that, to _feel_ each other. 

Dorian was trapped there, standing between John’s legs, arms slightly up, in an attempt of hugging. He felt another wave of strange feelings- happiness, worry, and desire that overwhelmed him for a moment until they parted and stared into each other’s eyes in silence. 

John studied his face until a little grin appeared on his face. “Say the lyrics aloud…” he murmured. 

“I want to know what you’re saying,” Dorian said, putting both hands on his shoulders. “Please, John, when we'll find you, repeat everything you said.” 

John stared caringly at the android, a patient smile on his lips while letting him go. 

“Alright, I think is-“ Rudy appeared on the doorstep and stared at them, puzzled. “Is... Everything ok?” 

“Yes,” Dorian said keeping his eyes on John that looked down, embarrassed. 

“I, uh, I’ve finished with the prototype, if you still want to try it.” 

“You did? I thought you were resting?” 

“As if I could sleep in a moment like this.” Rudy scoffed, walking back into the laboratory, watching them joining a moment later. “Ok, so… I know it looks kind of creepy, but it was the only thing I could use for the purpose at the moment.” 

The others just stood in front of half of an android’s body placed on the table: it was only the torso and a head partly covered by artificial skin; only one eye; no hair, and it seemed to be inactive. 

“Are you going to use this to check John's system?” Dorian asked. 

“Well, I can’t risk using my other projects.” He explained, but the two didn’t look very convinced. “This will work just fine, and if John’s system is going to fight back, I'll try to stop it.” Rudy said and patted a hand on the half-android’s shoulder, looking at it with a sad glare, adding a guilty, “Sorry, mate." 

Dorian scanned the prototype, and then looked at John that was staring at it as well. “John, we don’t know what could happen trying to break into your system…” he started. 

“It could fry the entire city’s electric system, or just yours.” Rudy nodded, crossing his arms. “It’s fifty-fifty, I’m afraid... Still, if we do nothing, we’ll never have any chance to find you.” 

John sighed and then nodded, hopping on the operation table as usual. 

“Are you sure?” Dorian asked.

“Gloss chopping the grass?” John asked with a shrug. “Call the bell when it’s too late.” 

“I think he's sure…” Rudy said, and John nodded one more time, so he took the prototype and placed it next to him. 

John followed the process, then looked at Dorian standing a few feet away. When their eyes met, he tilted his head to invite him to come closer. 

Dorian obeyed and stood next to him, scanning everything, searching for any kind of anomaly that could mean something was wrong. 

“Fried seashell,” John said but the DRN just kept staring, so he took his hand, trying to smile. Dorian said nothing but gave him just a slight nod. 

“Ok…” Rudy plugged a wire behind John’s neck, connecting him to the prototype, and then said, “John, I have no idea what is going to happen, but if we manage to get even the smallest clue, we will use it to find you, I promise.” 

John nodded, preparing himself as Rudy activated the half-android. 

Dorian watched the black eye flickering to life and few wires illuminating the inside of his partly exposed torso. 

“We’ll start slow…” Rudy said, pressing a few buttons on his tablet. 

“Release the-“ John started to say, but then his face turned completely blank, his body going rigid. 

“John?” Dorian grabbed his shoulder, then turned to Rudy. “What happened?” 

“I don’t know. Everything is working correctly…” he then frowned as something appeared on the screen, “What the-?” and a second later the device exploded into his hands, forcing him to throw it away with a yelp of pain. 

In that splint of second, John blinked and jumped down the table, grabbing Rudy by the neck with his left hand, and stealing the gun from Dorian’s hip with the other, aiming it at the DRN’s face. “Please, don’t move.” He then said, but his voice was deeper and as flat and empty as the expression on his face. 

“W-what are you doing?” Rudy said with a choked voice, grasping his arm while being lifted a few centimeters from the floor. 

“This isn’t John,” Dorian said. 

“Stay back,” the android told him squeezing Rudy’s neck a bit more, making him gasp for air, “or I can’t promise for the safety of Doctor Lom.” 

“Who are you?” Dorian asked while taking a step back. “What happened to John?” 

“The test will be archived as failed. Please, stay back as assistance will be provided to take care of this model.” He said, slowly walking towards the door, dragging Rudy with him. 

“What you mean? What kind of _assistance_?” 

“Stay back.” 

“Just tell me if John is safe!” Dorian insisted but got no response. “He needs my help! Please, tell me where he is!” 

The android stared at him in silence for a long moment, gun still up, and then said, “Detective Kennex will stay in our custody as long as it will be necessary.” 

Both Dorian and Rudy looked shocked. “So he- he is alive?” Rudy managed to ask. 

“Where is he?” Dorian asked again, “Please, tell me!” 

Just then, two officers ran into the lab, guns in hand and quickly approaching them. 

“D- don’t shoot!” Rudy gasped, “We need him!” 

Dorian recognize the two agents as the same men that he met at John’s apartment. “We need him to-“ he managed to say before one of them shot at him twice in the chest, making him fall backward. 

“NO! No- what are you doing? Stop!” Rudy yelled, trying to break free. 

“We’re here just to take that one,” the other agent schooled his friend. 

“I know, but DRNs always give me the creeps,” he said before looking at _John_, “Kill the doctor and finish the DRN. We have to be quick.” 

John was keeping his eyes on Dorian that was slowly trying to stand on his knees. “My orders are different.” 

“What did you say?” the officer barked angrily. 

“My orders are to take control of this model.” He explained turning to him. “Lethal violence is not required.” 

“Fine. You follow your orders. I’ll follow mine.” The man scoffed, approaching Dorian. 

Struggling for air, Rudy noticed the now broken wires still plugged in John’s neck: he grabbed the edges and connected them, causing a jump of electricity that made John’s body froze for a few seconds, stumbling back against the table, enough to allow the mechanic to get free. 

“You little shit-“ the other office growled approaching him; Rudy tripped on a chair but managed to grab a pen that he thrust into the man’s leg, making him scream in pain. 

The other officer turned to him just for a second. “Damn it-” he hissed before looking back at Dorian to finish him. 

Dorian shut his eyes, looking away, hearing two gunshot blasting in the room. A few seconds later, with his system still working, he looked up, finding the man laying face down on the floor, blood flowing from his head, and John right behind, staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. 

Rudy lowered his arms as well and saw the other man was also dead. 

“I was-” John tried to say. “Sorry, I- I wasn’t…” he turned to Rudy, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“John…” Dorian tried to stand, but his system was failing and he managed just to fall on his knees. 

The other quickly reached for him. “You ok?” 

“John, I can-“ Dorian put both hands on his shoulders, “I can understand what you’re saying now.” He said with a relieved smile, “Tell me where you are.” 

Taken aback, it took John a second to catch up. “I- I didn’t see much. I heard voices… Just now, when I was- I heard many people around me… Oh God, it’s good talking to you, man,” he sighed before hugging him briefly, and then looked down at the wounds, “Rudy- Rudy you ok? Can you help him?” 

“Huh-? Yeah… Yes, I…” he slowly stood and moved to reach them, both helping Dorian to stand and lean against the table. He then looked at the android, “Thank you for saving me, John.” He said and the other just smiled, nodding. 

“John, you don’t remember anything else?” Dorian insisted. 

He shrugged, trying to think. “I remember a gray building… A very tall one. Made of glass? I think it was all glass.” 

“How did they transfer your mind into this android?” Rudy asked. 

“I don’t know. I can barely remember anything after the explosion…” he said and then heard more people approaching the lab. Turning to the exit, he saw more officers rushing in. 

“HANDS IN THE AIR, NOW!” They screamed while few MXs scanned the area, sparing a look at the two bodies on the floor. 

“These men tried to kill us!” Rudy said, obeying. “They’re not-“ 

John saw some of the men looking at Dorian with angry eyes, so he instantly stepped forward. “It was me. I killed them.” 

“John, what are you-“ Dorian tried to say, but he was quickly losing power. 

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” The agents keep screaming, “PUT THE GUN DOWN!” 

Dorian tried to reach for John, but, as he did, the MXs moved to aim at both of them, and then there were more screams and more shooting- and everything turned black.

* 

“-ok? Can you hear me?”

Dorian blinked a few times, finding Rudy hovering over him with a worried expression on his face. “What happened?” 

Rudy sighed in relief, patting a hand on his bare chest saying, “Welcome back,” before helping him sit on the table. 

Dorian let his system finish to reboot while scanning the lab: there were still the signs of the fight, but John was nowhere to be found- and in his place, there was Sandra Maldonado staring coldly at them. “Captain…” He tried to stand, but Rudy stopped him. 

“I’m still checking you up. Stay put for a bit, alright?”

“I’m fine. I can-“ 

“You got shot four times. I don’t even know how I managed to save you in time.” Rudy insisted.

Dorian barely looked at the wounds on his chest. “Where’s John?” he asked, not missing the tense look Rudy shared with the Captain. 

“You mean the android you both thought John was using from the afterlife?” she said, voice as cold and sharp as a blade, “It was destroyed in the shooting tonight. That thing killed two men, Dorian.” 

“It was John,” Dorian confirmed, and her face darkened. “We talked to him. We still don’t know how, but John was definitely connected and using that android. He-“

“Yes, I saw your records. Even the ones Rudy tried to hide.” She stopped him. 

“There are good reasons why we didn’t tell anyone…” Rudy said. 

“I’m all ears.” She shot back, crossing her arms. “I am very curious to know how a shooting between men and androids took place in my department while I was gone for two damn days!” she continued, raising her voice more and more. “You’re risking being accused of illegal androids' traffic, and, as the cherry on top, you both are telling me that John Kennex is still alive!?”

“Captain, I-“ Dorian started but stopped when she raised a hand to shut him up. 

“That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you,” Rudy said, getting a furious glare from the Captain. “How we could tell anyone such a crazy story? I didn’t really believe it myself until tonight when I heard that android talk like John,” he continued, and met the DRN’s eyes, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright.” He nodded. 

“No, it’s not. Nothing is alright!” She continued, moving closer. “My superiors are waiting for an explanation regarding what happened here, and I’m not gonna tell them that it was all because John Kennex came back from the grave as a robot!” 

“What if he has never been in a grave in the first place?!” Rudy yelled back, surprising both of them. “I- I’m sorry, I…” he sighed, struggling to find the right words. “Maybe it was all a lie, but what if it wasn’t? What if someone kidnapped John and he needs our help?” 

“He said he saw a tall building made of glass, and that were lots of people around him,” Dorian added. “It could a laboratory of some kind. I can-“ 

“**Enough**.” The Captain cut short, and the other two stayed silent. She stared at them for a long moment, then said, “Rudy needs to be interrogated, so he’s coming with me to clarify this accident.” 

“But-“ 

“After that, I’ll check the shooting’s records from the lab, and then decide how to proceed.” 

“Captain, I can start looking for the location John said-“ 

“And,” she continued, staring at the android with a murderous glare, “I don’t want to hear John’s name or anything related to him until I’ll have made my decision. Is that clear?” The two just nodded, so she took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Five minutes, Rudy. Don’t make me come back here and drag you upstairs myself.” And that said, she walked away. 

Once the door closed, Rudy breathed out, dropping his shoulders. 

“Where’s the android?” Dorian asked him, “Maybe I still can try to get some information from it.” 

“You can’t, sadly.” He said. “I tried to save it, but it was too late. They left it here for now, in the office. It'll be transferred soon for investigation and- and get rid of him. For everyone else, he’s just an android that killed two humans...” He continued, while Dorian stood and walked into the other room. 

Dorian stopped next to the table where the android’s body was laying: there were five gunshot wounds on his torso and two in the head, one eye completely destroyed. He scanned the body, but there was no sign of activity. “Why did they shot him?” 

“The police thought you both killed those men and were going to attack again,” Rudy said, standing next to him. “Once the situation calms down, we’ll start looking for him. We will find him.” He stated, but the other just kept staring at the body on the table. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you sooner.” 

He turned to him, smiling a bit. “Most of the people wouldn’t have believed me at all.” 

Rudy tried to return the smile. “We’ll find him.” He repeated and patted his back before leaving. 

Dorian stood there, staring at the android for a while before grabbing one of his hands. “I’m not going to give up on you, John. So don’t you dare give up on me.”


	3. Chapter 3

_“…and that should do.” _

_“Isn’t this method going to affect-”_

_“-be normal. I guess we’ll see.” _

_“You know he wasn’t prepared for all this, right?” _

_“He’s gonna die anyway, so better not waste it.”_

-What the hell…?-

_“Use this… Come on, I’ll check the results.” _

Hands started touching him, over the chest and neck, and then around his head.

-What are you doing to me? HEY!- 

He wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Then, it came the pain, as a nail pushed into his brain, and his body flinched. 

_“Is he awake?” _

_“Keep going.” _

_“But-“ _

_“I can’t believe it… It works. It fucking works!” _

_“His vitals are dropping.” _

_“Shit- don’t lose him, we finally find the right subject! I need this one!”_

. - . - .

John Kennex woke up falling and crashing on a cold and hard surface, his entire body too heavy to move. Shaking, trying to keep both eyes at least half-open, forehead against the cold floor, he heard screeches of cars somewhere, then an explosion and everything around him trembled for a moment until gunshots fired.

_Gotta move,_ he told himself, but his body wasn’t responding. He kept trying until he managed to roll on his back, breathless as if he ran for miles. Trying to clear both, his vision and mind, John grasped whatever was next to him and slowly, painfully, sit up in the almost complete darkness: he was wearing only a pair of very light and gray trousers, and his robotic leg was missing.

Shivering, John tried to understand what was happing, but his last memories were so different from the current situation. John checked his own arms, confused and on the verge of a panic attack because the last thing he knew was being turned into a robot and now- now he wasn’t sure what he was anymore.

Just then, the world turned upside down and John was smashed against a wall, and then again, until everything stopped, leaving him sprawled on cold metal with a sore leg and a terrible pain from his back. He could smell gasoline now. 

_Is this a truck?_ he wondered waiting for his vision to stop spinning, and then, a door suddenly opened and light too strong forced him to shut his eyes and look away, protecting his face with an arm until hands grabbed him. Half-blinded, he tried his best to fight back. “Get off-!” 

“Detective Kennex, I’m just here to help.” 

John would have recognized that voice everywhere. He instantly looked up, finding Dorian down on his knee in front of him. 

“I know you are hurt, but my priority at the moment is taking you to safety.” 

“You-” _found me_, was what John was going to say, but the little, hopeful smile quickly faded as he noticed the DRN’s eyes were not blue, but a shining red. “You’re not Dorian…” 

“No, Detective, I’m not your partner.” He said pushing him up, and the other started struggling. “Please, I’m here to help.” 

“You’re with those bastards that kidnapped me, aren’t you? You were helping them! What the hell did you do to me?!” he screamed trying to get free, but the grasp on his arms was irremovable. 

“Yes, I was, but I don’t work for them anymore-” 

“Bullshit!” 

“We don’t have much time! Please, allow me to help you go back to your friends. To your partner.” 

John kept struggling, but, eventually, his body betrayed him, and he fell against the android, too weak even to stand. He wanted to push him away- he wanted no one but Dorian…   
He fell unconscious with that last, painful thought. 

Waking up, the first thing he recognized was the low humming and soft moving typical from being inside a car. Laying on the backseats, it took John a moment to focus and look around: what he saw was Dorian sitting on the front seat, driving. _Not Dorian,_ John had to remind himself while more memories came back to mind. 

As his heartbeat quicken, he tested his own body: too weak, and slow, to sit up and jump out the car- always if the doors were open, and if he wouldn’t have jumped to his death, considering he had no idea of where they were; he could move his arms and hands good enough to grasp the edges of the seats, so that was something… 

“Are you awake, Detective?” The android asked without turning around. “I am keeping your vitals under control to assure your survival. If there is anything wrong-“ 

As soon as John spotted the holster and the gun on the android’s side, he stretched and grabbed it as fast as he could, aiming at its head. “Stop the car.” 

“I can’t do that.” 

“I SAID STOP THE CAR!” 

“We are not out of danger yet.” 

John pressed the gun against the back of the android’s head. “You stop the car right now, or I’m gonna make a trashcan out of your fucking head!” He growled, moving closer to him. 

The DRN didn’t answer right away, and the car didn’t slow down. “The choice to destroy me is yours, but I wouldn't suggest it since it will drastically reduce your chances of surviving.” 

“I don’t care, I just want you to stop this car!” 

“Then, you will have to shoot me.” 

John wished he could just do that, but his mind was clearer now… Clear enough to know that he could barely move, figures walk by himself, or fight. If someone was actually following them, he wouldn’t have lasted a second. 

“I know you are angry and scared, Detective,” the android said, “but I can assure you that what am I doing now is just to keep you safe until you will be reunited with your friends.” 

“And when that is going to happen?” he hissed. 

“As soon as we will reach the Cassidy Mall.” 

John blinked, confused. “The what?” 

“It is a famous place for shopping, and also as far as this car can take us. From there, I will try to contact the authorities.” 

“Why can’t I do it from any other place? Why- why _you_ can’t do it right now?” 

“Because I have been damaged during the conflict, and so is our car. I have tried to leave signals since our escape started, but I’m not sure someone will pick them up. I need to connect to a main line, and the closer one is inside that mall.” 

John was finding it hard to keep up with the information, but then just lowered hand and gun on top of the front seat, head dropping against his arm, hoping for the headache to go away. “How far is it?” 

“Fifteen minutes, keeping our actual speed.” 

“And where the hell are we?” 

“Fifty kilometers from Los Angeles.” 

“They were keeping me so close to home?” 

“No, Detective. You have been kept very far away from here for months.” 

“How much far away?” 

“Close to the Canada’s border. You were transferred to Nevada weeks ago. We both were.” 

Just thinking about being moved here and there, and having no memories about it, made John feel sick. “What’s the point of all this? What’s the meaning of this experiment?” 

“From what I know, the main objective was to find new ways to connect humans to android. A deeper connection rather than just control...” 

“_From what you know_? You work for them. You know what shit they put into my brain!” 

“I did know, before, but they started blocking my programs and memories as soon as I took you away. I’m sorry I can’t give you all the information you want, Detective.” 

John could see the frustration on the android’s face, and it was the same expression Dorian used when his battery was low and he couldn’t solve a problem fast enough. “You know who these people are?” 

“Not in detail. They never shared more than the necessary with me. I was just part of the experiment.” 

“Great…” John sighed leaning against the backseat, looking at the street outside, in the night. “They used me for months and I got nothing...” 

“They have used both of us.” 

John looked back at the android that didn’t say anything else. Sighing, he looked down, at his missing leg. “Why I can barely move? Why I’m so weak?” 

“They used to give you different substances to keep you asleep and unable to move.” 

“You mean drugs?” 

“Yes. I fear someone managed to give you a higher dose right before we escaped. I am very sorry about that.” 

“Do you know what drug is it? For how long the effect will last?” 

“I don’t, but they used to give you a dose every day during the last month. The effect should fade soon.” 

_Hopefully_, John thought, trying to grasp the gun harder than he could. “Why are you helping me?” he then asked. 

The DRN didn’t answer, but the car started to slow down as the giant mall and its lights appeared in the night. “We’re here.” He said driving into the underground parking, stopping the car in one of the darkest corners and turning the engine off before hopping out. 

He moved to open the back door, but John was already doing so, and they stared at each other for a moment. John looked in surprise at the deep crack on the left side of the android’s head, starting from his cheek and disappearing through the hair, few wires flickering. Despite that, he kept aiming the gun at the android. 

“I’m not asking you to trust me, Detective,” the DRN said, “I just want you to stay alive until you will be rescued. Considering your conditions, I am the best option for that to happen.” 

“Yeah, no shit,” he barked out nervously. “You could be just planning to hand me over to some other psycho, _for all I know_.” 

“I won’t. I promised myself no one will ever be put under such torture.” 

John didn’t move but lowered the gun a bit. “So you’re feeling guilty now?” 

The DRN seemed to consider his words. “I don’t know. Most of the feelings I should be able to use have been erased from my program when I started working for those people… Along with memories of my past.” 

“Your past?” 

“Detective, we don’t have much time. Please,” he said moving closer. “We have to go.” 

John took a deep breath. “I keep the gun.” 

“Of course.” The android nodded, and finally saw the human moving out of the car. John lost his balance almost instantly, so the android moved John’s arm over his shoulders to keep him up while closing the door. 

“I can walk by myself. Just- find me a stick or something…” 

“I’m sure you can, Detective, but we’re in a hurry.” 

John found himself being dragged away without warning, the android keeping him slightly off the ground, enough for his foot to touch it, but not enough to slow them down. He grasped on the gun but said nothing. He let himself be held, refusing to look up at the DRN’s face because even if it looked like Dorian, that wasn’t Dorian, and he couldn’t stand the idea at the moment. 

“The offices are on the third floor.” The android said without stopping. 

John saw they were moving to one of the sliding doors, on the back of the building. “How are we going to-“ he started, and then saw the android grasping the door’s edges with a hand, pushing them open enough to let them through. “Alright… You thought about the cameras too?” 

“No. I want the authorities to know you are here. More people will come, hardest will be for you to be kidnapped again.” He said heading to the staircase. 

The mall was silent and almost completely in the dark. John kept an eye around, but he was so damn tired. He wondered how many alarms they triggered moving from a floor to another- and cracking the office’s door open. “How long has been since my android was destroyed?” he asked, “I mean, the- the one I was controlling.” 

“Two weeks.” He answered, carefully leaving him on a sofa while moving to the computers.

John tried to sit better, feeling even worse for leaving his friends in the dark for all that time._What if they gave up? What if no one believed them?_

“Here.” The android said handing him a phone. “Call the police. Your partner. Anyone you think could help.” 

John moved to grab it, but his fingers didn’t manage to keep it. 

The DRN studied him and then sit next to him, checking his vitals. 

“I miss the disco face…” John murmured watching red lines crossing the android’s face. There was no reply, though. No smile, nor a sarcastic comment… That face was just as cold as any other android’s expression could be. 

“Your temperature is increasing because of the drug. Please, make that call.” The DRN said taking his hand and putting the phone into it.

John nodded slowly, watching the other going back to the computers. He then looked down and started pressing numbers on the phone, hearing it ringing twice before a high-pitched sound made him groan and move the device away from his ear. At the same time, all the lights in the mall turned off. 

The android looked up, the red of his eyes faltering for a second. “They found us.” He said running to shut the door. 

“Already?” John asked. 

“I don’t think they know our precise location yet. They have cut the energy in the whole area, for miles.” He answered looking outside through half-closed blinds, where the city’s lights disappeared one after the other.

John sighed, “Who the hell are these people?” 

“Have you made the call?” The android turned to him, just to freeze for a second before falling on his knees on the floor. 

“Hey-” John asked trying to stand, but falling back down on the couch.

“My system won’t keep working for long.” 

“You mean your battery is low?” John managed to stand and reach the desk in a few, unsteady one-foot jumps, almost falling over the android that raised a hand and helped him stay up and sit on the chair close by. 

“My system is failing due to the damage I took during the fight.” His body flinched and then he slowly pushed himself up, on his knees on the floor, asking again, “Have you made the call?” 

“No one answered, and now there's no signal,” John said, watching as that cold face finally showed something- and it was worry. 

The DRN stared at him for a long moment. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, Detective. They… They turned me into something I never intend to be. I-” The DRN stood and grasped on the desk before freezing again for a second. “I just recently got some of my memories back.” He finished as lights started crossing his face. 

“What memories?” John asked, unsure. “I thought you worked for them…” 

“I did, for five years and seven months by now,” he confirmed, “They never wanted me to remember my past. When they took me away from-“ he blinked as the shining streaks disappeared from his cheeks, “from my family.” He finished, voice lower. 

“Five years ago? That's- Are you one of the original DRN series? The crazy ones?” 

“The crazy ones…” He repeated, staring at him with a contemplative glare. “I liked my life back then. I loved my family and they loved me back… Is that what you define as crazy?” 

John snorted, smiling a bit, “Yeah, that sounds pretty crazy to me,” he commented, and was surprised to see the DRN smiling back at him. A smile veiled of shared sarcasm, but also sadness. 

“I was- happy.” The android continued, voice low and slow. “She hated me at first, but then… Then I played for her and she smiled. She started asking me to play for her more often…” 

“Hey,” John grabbed him by an arm, making him sit into the other chair as the DRN blinked, the light into his red eyes faltering again. Looking around, John noticed an emergency kit behind them and got an idea. “Who’s she? Tell me more about it, come on,” he said pushing the rolling chair towards the wall. 

“My master.” The DRN continued. “She didn’t like being called like that… She told me that we were friends, not master and servant, no matter what other people think.” 

“And this awesome girl have a name?” 

“Yes…” he turned to him when the human moved closer again, and finished, “but I don’t remember it,” with a so heartbreaking voice. 

John saw the last lights fading from his eyes and quickly grabbed the little two defibrillators from the kit, placing them against the android’s chest and give him a shock strong enough to turn him back online again. 

The DRN looked around in confusion. “Detective… What-?” 

“Sorry, but you haven't finished the story yet.” 

The android kept staring, dumbfounded. “You saved me.” 

“As you saved _me_,” he nodded. “I tend to repay my debts. I think Dorian hates that, by now...” 

“Dorian… Your partner?” 

“Yeah. He's a DRN, just like you.” 

“I saw him.” The other nodded. “I was the one keeping you connected to the android you were using. I was watching the whole time.” 

“Ok… Not creepy at all.” 

“You saved his life as well?” 

“Ah, I guess…? A few times.” 

“Why?” he asked, sincerely curious. “We are not human.”

John sighed, not sure himself how to answer that question. “Maybe I've lost so many people in my life that even a robot counts.”

The DRN kept staring. “That’s why he cares so much about you. It’s rare to find humans that actually value our existence… My master was the same.” He said, and their eyes met again, “I really wish I could remember her name… Or the one she chooses for me.” 

“We can look for her once we get out of here. I’m sure she’s still waiting for you.” John said, wondering if he really was so important to Dorian. 

“I appreciate your concern Detective, but saving you was my last task.” 

“You just said how important she is for you-“ 

“Yes, and I will always cherish the memories of my past I still have, but I don’t want her to see me like this. What have I become… This is something she would hate.” 

“Come on, you’re free now. You can- damn it…” John grabbed the defibrillators and once again used them to give him another shot of power to wake him up. 

“Please…” the android said, his voice way too high for a second, “Stop using that.” 

“You brought me here, ok? You know I can’t stand a fight right now- I can barely walk! I need your help.” 

The DRN stared at him, checked his vitals once again, and then looked down at himself, starting to open his chest plate. 

John watched the millions of wires and little lights inside of him and flinched when he pulled something out, handing it to him: it was as big as a music disc, but more squared and with something similar to a large button on the center. 

“It won’t take long for them to find us,” the android said. “I’m sorry I can’t do more than this, but you need to leave. You have to try, Detective.” 

John wasn’t the type to complain, but he just escaped a nightmare that lasted for months; he have been drugged, and now he was sick and tired- and without a leg, for God’s sake. “And this is going to teleport me away or something? Because if it doesn’t…”

“That is the device they use to track me down. I deactivated it before escaping their facility. You can reactivate it manually, creating a signal that should overpass all the others for miles. Especially old DRNs with my same frequency should be able to hear it, like your partner, but once you activate it…” 

“The enemies will get the signal as well?” John finished, and the other nodded. 

“Yes. I’m sorry Detective.” 

“Stop apologizing, ok? I- I would still be a lab rat if it wasn’t for you.” 

The android just stared at him with sad eyes, one slowly turning black. “Please, don’t wake me up again if I stop working.” 

John sighed, but placed the defibrillators next to him, on the desk. “You really don’t want to see that girl again? Because I’m sure she missed you a lot in the last years.” 

“You think so?” 

He smiled a bit- tried to. “If you were for her what Dorian is for me, I have no doubt she raised hell to find you.” 

“Even for a crazy one like me?” 

“Well, you were _her_ crazy one.” John grinned, surprised to see the android smile a bit. 

“I was hers…” he repeated. 

John stared at him before noticing something in the dark, outside the office: lights. Flashlights. “Damn it…” he could feel the fever now, the dizziness that slowed his movements, but he couldn’t give up. Not being so close to home. He stood and silently stood and hopped to the door to peek outside, but that smashed against his face a second later, making him fall back, both gun and device flying who knows where while a man’s voice ordered him to stay down.

“Here agent 78. I have found-“ 

John heard the blast of a gunshot and covered his head, just to see the android, _agent 78_, crashing next to him on the floor, a hole on the back of its head. Turning, he saw the DRN barely standing up, gun in hand. 

“I have activated the signal. You have to leave, Detective.” He said throwing the little round device away and handing him back the gun. 

“What about you?”

“I’ll use the energy left in me to activate the auto-destruction sequence.” 

“What? Why? We can-“ 

“I am part of this horrible experiment as much as you are, Detective,” he explained. “They need both of us to make it work. They probably have a backup plan, but my destruction should slow them down long enough for you to find them. So, please, go now. As fast as you can.” 

John kept staring, conflicted on what to do. “It’s- John. Just call me John.” 

The DRN smiled even so slightly. “Thank you, John.” 

It felt terrible hearing those words, as if it was actually Dorian saying goodbye. John had to remind himself that it wasn’t him, but couldn’t stop thinking of this android being separated from his family against his will for all this time… A family that loved him.

“She would be proud of you,” John said, grasping his shoulder as strong as he could, and a wave of pure sadness suddenly hit him, leaving him breathless for a second. Unsure about who or what caused that burst of emotions, he let him go, confused and on the verge of tears. The DRN looked ready to cry as well as he nodded once, and then John left the office without turning back. Once out the door, leaning against it, he checked the gun: still five bullets. “Make them count…” he murmured to himself, heading to the staircase. 

Only then John realized he completely forgot how it was to walk without a leg. Despite how much he used to hate it, the prosthetic Rudy provided him would have been a blessing at the moment. He had no balance at all, and the fever wasn’t helping. 

Keeping the gun in one hand, he held onto every handrail and wall for dear life, praying not to fall straight into the enemy. _If they got MXs with them, I’m already screwed_, he sighed to himself, looking around the unfamiliar place. 

He reached the first floor and followed the walls that led him in front of a coffee shop. He saw more flashlights at the mall’s main entrance, on the other side of the large floor, so he entered the shop. Moving in the darkness, tripping here and there, he finally found the bathroom with a window and a broom that he grasped for balance, relaxing just for a moment, breathing hard. Using it as a crutch, he quickly checked out the window before opening it, starting the difficult task of climbing outside.   
The broom actually helped a lot, but falling on the other side was terribly painful, and John cried as he crashed on the concrete, laying there, breathless, a light, cold breeze as his only relief. 

“Come on… Dorian will be here in no time…” he murmured slowly pushing himself up, his vision getting blurry before clearing again. He then noticed cars’ lights on the other side of the parking. The moment he stood up and took some distance, an explosion made everything tremble and he fell against one of the few vehicles parked there, triggering the alarm that painfully pierced his ears, hitting his head like a punch. 

Smashing the edge of the broom against the floor with most of his weight, John kept moving forward, leaning against the trees of the parking lot when he needed more support. Turning around he saw flames and smoke rising from the third floor of the mall. _Keep going… Keep going_, he repeated himself, fighting the urge to stop there to scream- or cry. He was few meters away from the main street when he heard a car approaching from behind, and quickly hide behind a tree. 

Peeking aside, he saw it wasn’t a police car and, when it stopped, lights off, only one person came out, looking around. 

“Detective Kennex?” a man called. 

John stood still as much as he could, well aware that by now it was only the adrenaline keeping him going. One mistake and he would have found himself back in a lab- this time, on the other side of the world. 

“I know you must be very confused, Detective. I’m here to help you. Just me, no one else.” The man said calmly walking forward, completely missing the person he was looking for was hiding behind the tree. 

John didn’t miss the chance: as the man was next to him, he swings the broom and hit him in the stomach, making him gasp and double over, giving John time to hold him, putting an arm around the man’s neck while pressing the gun against his side with the other. “Good to know,” John hissed into the man’s ear, “Now tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right on the spot?” 

“Kennex, please, we can talk like civil persons-“ 

“Says the one that kidnapped me!” he yelled, holding around his neck even tighter. The man wasn’t very tall, nor muscular, with black short hair, and he was wearing casual clothes. “What the hell do you want from me!?” 

“There’s always a reason for everything, isn’t there?” 

John moved the gun from his back up to his head. “You just try answer me with another question. **Just try me**!” 

The man sighed, hands lazily up. “We were not expecting you to be the right subject either. It was just a very lucky coincidence that the attack at the clinic brought you back to us.” 

“What the hell do you mean with _back to us_?” 

“It’s a long story… Why don’t we-“ the man looked on the right and yelled, “Wait, don’t shot! We need him!” 

John followed his gaze and saw two MX approaching, rifles in hand. 

“I want him alive!” the man kept saying, “We lost Christopher already, I can’t-“ he stopped as the androids raised their weapons against both of them. 

“Aren’t these bots yours?” John asked, keeping him in front of himself, but looking at the androids.

“That’s what I thought…” the man murmured, and then sighed saying to the two, “This was just an accident. Tell them that I can fix it, I just need-“ 

John knew when it was time to shot, and if he managed to take down one of the androids with a terrible aim, and three bullets, he didn’t manage to stop the other before he fired in their direction. Shooting his last two bullets and hoping for the best, John was then falling backward. Opening his eyes, he found himself on the ground, with the man laying on top of him. 

Moving him away, he saw the other MX on the ground as well. Breathing out, he then took care of the man that has been hit by at least five bullets and was now bleeding on the concrete. 

“It- ended pretty bad for us, huh?” the man said with a shaky voice, coughing a little. 

“You call it on yourself, pal.” John commented dropping the empty gun on the floor. 

“D- doctor Brook- at your service.” He grinned with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. 

“So I have to thank you for putting me into this mess?” 

The man laughed a bit, coughing more. “N-not just me, but- it’s ok… They will- they’ll keep trying.” 

“Keep trying do what?!” John yelled angrily, “What the hell were you trying to achieve putting my brain inside an android?!” 

“Just- minds… Connecting. Feeling- immortality.” 

“Immortality? It felt like dying every time that thing was turned off! It wasn’t immortality, it was a torture!” 

Doctor Brook looked tiredly at him. “Just need- more tests…” 

“Too bad you lost all your subjects today.” 

The other laughed, or he tried to. “There's- no rush. We will- take you down piece by piece, Kennex… We started with a leg…” 

John’s eyes flashed of pure murderous anger as he stared at the dying man. “What did you just say?” 

“Piece by piece…” he kept murmuring. 

“You mean the ambush?” John dragged himself next to him, grabbed him by his bloodied shirt yelling, “It was you?! InSyndacate is behind all this??” but the man died with that grin still on his face. 

“**DAMMIT!**” John roared letting him go. He couldn’t think about that now. He couldn’t think at all. He stood, barely, and then grabbed the broom from the ground, trying to find some balance again while his body was slowly giving up. Eyes fixed on the buildings on the other side of the street, he continued moving forward. _Can't stop... Not now. Keep going... Call Dorian..._

After a few meters, a hand grabbed his shoulder and John snapped, trashing and furiously screaming at whoever dared to stop him and keep him away from Dorian for another second. He tried to use the broom as a weapon but it was lost a second later when he started to fall, feeling hands holding him to save his head from another painful hit. He kept screaming in anger and fighting, and fighting more until a voice reached his ears. 

“-please, John!” 

Out of breath, he slowly realized he was pulling on Dorian’s hair. Dorian was there, kneeling half on top of him. His Dorian, with those blue eyes he missed so much. 

“John, it’s me,” he said, keeping a hand on the back on his head, while holding his shoulder with the other, not even trying to fight back. Never trying to fight him back.

John blinked and just stared at him, mouth partly open. He let go of his hair, watching the scars he inflicted on his face. “Dorian…?” 

The DRN sighed in relief, softening his hold. “Yes, it’s me. I got the signal. We were-“ he stopped as John moved his arms around his neck, dragging him down into a hug. Surprised by the gesture, Dorian then moved an arm around the man, keeping him close. 

“It’s ok, John. I got you,” he murmured into his ear while the man started sobbing against him, “I got you.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to add the epilogue next because I love my OCs too much :')

The place was cold and dark, and but strangely familiar. Even if there wasn’t any particular smell or noise, John knew he have been there before… Into that _nothing_, waiting- hoping to be saved from the darkness he couldn’t escape. 

_“What you think it's like? Being in this state, I mean.” _

_“No idea. Half-alive, half-dead… We should ask him.” _

_“You know we can’t.” _

_“You’re curious though.” _

_A low, evil laugh, “You bet I am.”_

. - . - . 

John woke up with a gasp, the sound of that creepy laugh still into his ears, along with his heart beating like crazy. Quickly sitting up, he scanned the room he was in, with white ceiling and pastel walls. _It was all just a nightmare?_ he asked himself moving out the bed, crashing on the floor right away: he was wearing just a light, gray tunic, and he could see that his right leg was missing; his body heavier than usual. 

It took him incredible efforts to stand and sit on the bed again, trying to keep the panic away. Focusing on the door in front of him, he stood again to reach it, holding onto everything on his way. Once outside, he froze, as he saw Rudy sleeping in the atrium, sitting on a chair, while his jacket was covering half of Valerie Stahl’s body, also asleep, laying on a couch, her head bumping against to Captain Maldonado’s leg, sleeping as well, with her arms crossed. 

John’s heartbeat started to slow down as he realized that his friends- his family, were all there. He was free. The nightmare was over. 

He started moving forward to reach them, but then something strange happened… He felt a shiver along his back, and turned around, looking down the corridor: it wasn’t exactly a voice calling for him- more like a need to urge that way. John obeyed the instinct, a little jump after another, leaning against the walls with both hands until he found the storage room and, opening the door, there were few android-nurse recharging themselves on circular, metal bases. Dorian was also there, the only exception, wearing his usual clothes, eyes closed. 

John’s shoulders dropped a bit, carefully approaching him, staring at the DRN for a long moment, realizing about how much he had missed him, and how much the android did to help him… Without Dorian, he would have never survived that long. 

John looked down and gently grabbed one of Dorian’s hands, and the sudden wave of concern that washed over him almost left him out of breath. _These feelings- are coming from him? He’s scared?_ John wondered, confused, quickly holding on the DRN’s jacket to keep his balance, “Dorian- hey… Dorian, wake up!” 

Few blue streaks crossed the android face before he blinked a few times and looked at him: his blank expression quickly changed as a smile appeared, “John! Are you-“ and then there was worry again, “You shouldn’t be out the bed! Are you alright?” he asked, helping him standing because the human clearly wasn’t able to all by himself.

“Are _you_ alright?” he asked back. 

“Me? Yes, I’m fine,” Dorian nodded, puzzled. “You’re the one that needs to rest. Come on.” He added, gently moving John’s arm on top of his shoulders to help him walk. 

“I thought there was something wrong with you.” 

“What do you mean?” he asked as they left the storage room. 

“I… I don’t know… You looked worried.” 

Dorian studied him for a second. “I was. I wanted to keep checking on you, but moving the charger in your room was impossible-” 

“_That_ is why you were worried?” 

“I wasn’t aware I was showing it so clearly by my appearance.” 

_You weren’t,_ John thought, letting himself being held. _You looked normal, but I… I felt it._

Once back into his room, Dorian let him sit on the bed. Noticing the human was shaking, he checked his vitals, grabbing his wrist. “You still have some fever, but the effect of the drug is almost completely gone. You should-” he stopped as he noticed John staring intently at the hand that was holding him. “John?” No answer. “John?” 

He blinked and looked up at him with watery eyes. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing...” John took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Everything's weird now… It was different before, while I was an android. I couldn’t feel anything… I think that messed me up a bit.” 

"You mean being- physical touch?" Dorian looked down and let go of his wrist. “Sorry. I didn’t realize-“ 

John surprised both when he instantly took his hand back. “It’s fine. With you is…” It was too late to stop there, and he didn’t miss the confusion on the android’s face, waiting for him to continue. Keeping his hand, John could sense different feelings now: a desire to protect, to be close- to touch. He wasn’t sure whom those feeling belonged to anymore. 

“Do you want me to call for someone?” Dorian asked. 

“No… What? Who?” 

“I mean a doctor, John.” 

“Don’t need that…” John murmured, eyes closed as his head slowly lolled down, and Dorian held him, preventing him from falling forward. He started to wonder if it was all still just a dream. “Want you... You make me feel. Only you…” John leaned his forehead against Dorian’s chest and was unconscious a second later.

The second time John woke up, the headache was gone; it was easier to keep his eyes open, and he could move his head without feeling dizzy. Turning to the right, he found Dorian standing there, looking out the window. As John’s heartbeat started to go a bit faster, the DRN turned to look at him.

“Good morning, John.” He smiled calmly, taking a step closer. 

“’morning…” he murmured, pleased that his own voice was stronger now. He then noticed the android grinning. “What?” 

“It’s good to understand what you’re saying again.” 

“Right… That wasn’t a dream, was it?” 

“No, it wasn’t,” Dorian confirmed. “How are you feeling?” 

“Better…” John pushed on his elbows to sit up, but his body was still heavier than usual, so Dorian came to help, carefully keeping the IV’s tube out of the way, double-checking on the two needles into John’s arm. 

“You will need few days of rehabilitation to start getting your strength and mobility back,” the DRN said. 

“Mh…” John nodded, ignoring the warm sense of caring that hit him as they touched. “Because of the drug?” 

“Yes, but also because you are in terrible physical conditions. When we got you here, you were dehydrated and basically starving-” 

“So I’m allowed to eat and drink whatever I want?” he interrupted with a grin, leaning his back against the pillow.

Dorian sighed. “If the doctor agrees, I’ll make sure to get you all the noodles and water you want.” 

“Just water?”

“Just water.”

Taken aback by the fond smile on the android’s face, John cleared his throat, looking around the room. “Alright… So, what happened after you found me outside the mall? Where are we? Where are the others?”

“You were taken to the closest hospital. We are still in Nevada, and Rudy and Detective Stahl should still be around here, while the Captain left to follow the investigation about your kidnap. They’re searching for clues in the area around the mall.” 

John nodded slowly. “How did you guys found me so fast? The signal was out- don’t know, maybe ten minutes before we met?” 

“Fifteen minutes before I found you,” Dorian said. “I was already receiving a strange signal that led us in Nevada, but it stopped a few days ago. Once here, I got the one from the mall. It was pure luck that we were not too far, that night.” 

“You mean it wasn’t the same signal both times?” 

“No. The first one seemed to be a GPS signal, from a vehicle, while the second from the mall was clearly connected to an android. I’m not sure about the model since it didn’t last long enough.” 

“He probably set off the first signal before I woke up…” 

“_He_?” 

“The android that helped me escape.”

“An android?” Dorian asked, surprised.

“I sure couldn’t go anywhere by myself,” John commented looking at his missing leg. “He was the one those people were using to connect me to that android- the one that couldn't speak.” 

“And he betrayed them to help you?” 

John shrugged. “He didn’t approve what they were doing. That’s what he said.” 

Dorian pondered the new information. “What model was he?” 

“A DRN, just like you.” He replied, noticing him staring intently. “It looked _exactly_ like you. It was-“ 

“Strange?” 

“comfor- what? Strange? Why?” 

Dorian tilted his head a bit. “Were you going to say _comforting_?” 

“I know it wasn’t really you, ok? I know that, but… A lot of things happened, so give me a break,” he sighed, looking down. 

Dorian nodded in silence, and give him a little smile as their eyes met again. 

“Did they find anything inside the mall?” John asked after a moment. “He was- the DRN was still inside the office when I left…”

“That’s where the explosion started, so there wasn't much data to collect,” Dorian explained. “It was him that caused it?” 

John nodded slowly. “He was damaged… I tried to help him, but destroy himself was his last wish.” 

Dorian kept quiet, then called, “John,” and the man looked up. “I’m glad you’re safe, and I know this is part of your job, but I…” he stopped as if changing his mind about something. “Please, promise me you will never risk your life like that ever again.” 

“I can’t,” John said, smiling patiently as the DRN stared nervously at him. “I mean, I can, but we both know that would be a lie…” he added with a little shrug. 

Dorian’s eyes changed for a moment, his expression seemed surprised, then unsure. “Bullets can’t kill me, but they can kill _you_,” he said in the end. “I… I don’t want to lose you, John.”

John’s heart skipped a beat, and he hoped the android didn’t notice it. “Then let’s try to be more careful from now on. Both of us.” 

Dorian nodded once, staring at him for a moment, and then asked, “John, about what happened at Rudy’s, after they shoot at us in front of the clinic…” 

“You mean- after I killed those fake agents? They weren’t part of our department, right?” 

“No, they weren’t,” Dorian confirmed, taking another step closer, standing right next to the bed now, “but I mean before that. After Rudy fixed you from the gunshot wound. You were angry at me, and then we talked…” 

“We did?” John asked, still looking puzzled. “Sorry, I… I remember being shot, but my memories stop there and start again when I shot those men.” He explained and saw Dorian closing his mouth as if taken aback. “It was something important? You can tell me again, now.” 

Dorian kept staring, but eventually said, “No… No, it wasn’t important. We just… Talked.” 

“You were able to understand me back then?” 

“Not literally, but I was getting better at translating.” 

“You sure did. You were a hell of an interpreter,” he nodded with a smile, and then sighed, as the DRN looked down, seeming frustrated. “Look, I’m sorry. My head is still a mess…”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Dorian stopped him, giving him a faint smile. “I should let you rest. I’ll call the Captain and inform her that you’re awake.” 

“Ok… Hey, Dorian,” John called as the DRN was already at the door. “You’re not… Are you gonna stay here?” 

Dorian smiled a bit more and nodded. “Of course. I’m your partner.” He said, and then left the room, leaving the door ajar. 

John breathed out, leaning against the pillow, keeping an arm over his closed eyes. He knew lying was the wrong thing to do, but how was he going to explain the fact that in the middle of a crisis, _he_ threw everything to hell and kissed Dorian? And that he has wanted to do that way before being trapped inside an android’s body? 

“John?” 

He jumped and moved his arm away, finding Rudy and Valerie on the doorstep, both trying to hold back the tears. “Hey, guys.” He smiled, and a second later, the two were laying on the bed, squeezing him into a hug that left him out of breath. He didn’t mind that at all and tried his best to return the gesture. Still, it was different from Dorian's… Touching them, he felt nothing. 

John spent the rest of the day waking up and falling asleep again, having visions of doctors and other people without really knowing how much of that was real. 

He saw Rudy, and he saw Dorian in those glimpses of awareness. He didn’t open his eyes, but at some point, he _felt_ Dorian: the same sense of caring that he felt before, and that made him turn into his sleep, trying to find the source of those warm feelings, but he was so tired… 

The night passed quietly, and in the morning John finally opened his eyes hearing the rain hitting against the window. Turning his head a bit, he found Sandra Maldonado sitting next to the bed, staring at him with puffy eyes. “Am I in heaven?” he murmured with a small grin, and when she smiled and started crying, he found her hand and started crying together.

“So,” Sandra started passing a tissue under her wet eyes, “the story Rudy and Dorian told me about was all real?” 

“Seems like it.” 

“You were actually living inside a robot?” 

“I don’t know if _living_ is the right word for it, but… I think I was?” John said slowly sitting up. He saw her staring in silence, tears ready to start falling again. “I don’t blame you for not believing them.” 

“I thought you were gone for good this time.” She said, recomposing herself. “I was at your funeral. There’s a grave with your name on it and that empty coffin hunts me to this day. You-“ She stopped again, looking down, taking a deep breath. 

“If it helps, I thought I was as good as dead too,” John said. “I have no idea how I managed to survive that explosion- or why those people decided that I was a good test subject.” 

Sandra stared at him for a moment, and then asked, “You never woke up before- find yourself into that robot?” 

“I remember hearing voices, but if I woke up, I don’t remember anything. The android that helped me escape said they were drugging me every day to keep me unconscious.” 

“Dorian told me about the DRN that helped you...” she nodded. “Did it really betrayed them to save you?”

John nodded. “He wanted to stop them and their sick experiment.” 

“And he destroyed itself? At the mall?” 

“He had been damaged during our escape, so he decided to sacrifice himself to give me some time. He knew they were going to find him... And he didn't wanted to be used by them anymore.” 

She sighed. “You really have a talent to get along with DRNs.” 

John smiled sadly. “He saved my life… All I could do was running away. Well, so to speak…” he said looking at his missing leg. 

“You have been very brave, John.” 

“Oh, please…” 

“I mean it. Not everyone would have had the strength to keep fighting after everything you’ve been through.” 

It was John’s turn to take a deep breath. “You guys were going to find me, anyway.” 

“Yeah… And you have to thank Dorian if we did. He never stopped looking for you after you- I mean, your robot was destroyed. He was going to check state by state.” 

John smiled a bit. “He couldn’t give me a full report about this whole mess yet. Have you caught someone at the mall? A man was shot in the parking lot where Dorian found me. I think he was a doctor…” 

“Doctor Brook?” 

“Yes. He was talking to me, but- what?” he saw her expression turning colder. 

“We saw his body on the ground from Dorian’s records, but when my team got there, they found no one.” 

“Are you kidding me?” 

“Sadly, no. There wasn’t even blood on the ground.”

“But- you got a picture, right? Dorian ID him, so we can get to his family, or where he works-“ 

“I tried, but Doctor Ernest Brook results being dead ten years ago in our database.” 

“What?” 

“I checked myself.” 

John was still too weak to get as angry as he wanted. “They shut him up and deleted him from existence…”

“They?” 

“InSyndacate.” 

Sandra’s eyes widened for a second, her face stone cold. “Are they behind your kidnap?” 

“Not sure, but that man said that they were going to tear me apart. That they started with my leg, and now my brain.” 

“So they’re after you now? Why?” 

“He said that find me after the accident at the clinic was just a coincidence,” John said with a shrug. “Whatever their experiment was about, maybe it’s not easy to find people to test it on…” 

“Well, it sucks for them. From now on, we’re not going to make it easier for them.” She said, dead serious. “I think it’s time to take care of InSyndacate once and for all.” 

They spent around an hour talking, mostly John trying to remember and give Sandra all the information he could.  
He didn’t know when, but he must have fallen asleep at some point because when he opened his eyes again, the lamp on the bedside table was on and it was dark outside the window. 

John sighed, staying with his back against the soft pillow for a while, eyes closed, until he heard knocking at on the door still open, and found Dorian there. “Since when you knock?” he asked with a low voice. 

“A thought you were asleep.” He said entering the room to stand next to his bed. 

“Just woke up… What time is it?” 

“Ten PM.” 

“Have I slept all day?” 

“The nurses told me you answered their questions, a few hours ago, when they came to check on you.” 

“I guess… I only remember talking with Sandra this morning.” 

“Yes. The Captain told me. She said she will come back tomorrow, as soon as possible.” 

John nodded, staring at nothing for a second before looking up at him. “How you’re holding up?” 

“I should ask you that.” 

“Well, I’m asking you.” 

Dorian smiled patiently. “I’m fine. I’ll need to go charge myself in an hour.” 

“Here in the hospital?” 

“Where else should I go?” 

John felt that question like a stab straight into his heart. “I mean, I know I asked you to stay around, but if Rudy or the Captain needs you…” 

“I have been reassigned as your partner. That includes also taking care of your well-being.” 

“You’re not a nurse.” 

“I can be if you need one.” 

John opened his mouth, then closed it, studying him for a moment. “You really need to recharge…” 

“I do. I... I’m sorry.” Dorian looked down, sitting on the chair close by, visibly tense. 

“I just thought the Captain wanted your help for the investigation about InSyndacate. She told me she’s going to organize a new team just for that.” 

Dorian nodded. “I looked for information about them, but most of the files aren’t available.” 

“That's because it’s a hot topic. They started going wild right after Sandra became Captain, and then the ambush happened… It’s kind of personal to us.” 

“Are you going to join her team?” 

“Of course I will.” 

“But- it could be dangerous. What if they kidnap you again?” 

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” 

“It shouldn’t have happened the first time either, but you saw our plans don’t always work!” 

“Dorian-“ 

“If another building crashes on you and I fail to save you again, what-“ 

“Calm down, ok?” John said grabbing his arm, “Nothing is gonna-“ he stopped as the strange, overwhelming wave of feelings cut off his breath once again: the need to protect, to be close- and the deep fear of failing, and losing something important… 

John shut his eyes and heard Dorian call his name before fainting once again.

“Yes… I was just going to- oh, ok. Sure.” 

John opened his eyes and groaned, closing and shielding them with an arm as the daylight felt like a punch in the face.

“Good morning John.” 

“Hey Rudy…” he sighed, slowly daring to look, and the man was standing at the end of the bed, looking worried. “Where’s Dorian?” 

“I sent him to retrieve something for me.” He said, moving next to him. “He seemed a bit- shaken, after what happened tonight.” 

“You tell me…” 

“The doctors said you’re fine, now... Do you remember what happened?” 

“I’m not sure…” John lied, sitting up.

“Dorian said your two were talking and then you suddenly fainted. He called the nurses, but, as I said, you’re physically fine.” 

“I guess I was just tired.” 

“Yes. Probably it was just that…” 

John knew Rudy was staring at him, so he kept his eyes on the blanket until he tried to change the subject. “So, why are you here? I thought you would have been busy helping with the investigations?”

“I was. I mean, I am. I’ll leave as soon as Dorian comes back.” 

“You don’t have to babysit me while he’s gone.” 

“Said the one that fainted all of sudden.” 

John sighed. “Why are you all so sassy lately?” 

“Sorry… I think we’re just- processing the fact that you’re not dead.” 

“We both,” John commented. “I mean it, though. I prefer you go help the Captain rather than waste your time here. I have few checkups scheduled for this morning, anyway. I’ll be fine.” 

“You sure?” 

“I’m sure.”

Rudy thought for a moment and then nodded. “We’ll find them. Whoever did this to you, we’re going to find them.” 

John smiled and nodded, “You bet we will.”

Dorian came back to the hospital a few hours later with a large metal suitcase. He headed to John’s room unable to not recall the moments from the last weeks: John turned into a robot; the shooting and the fighting- the kiss. He wanted to talk about that with John, he tried to, but when the man made it clear that he couldn’t remember it… They really needed to talk about it? Was a kiss between two androids so important to share? John wasn’t exactly himself at that time, but…

Dorian entered the room and froze, finding it empty. “John?” he called leaving the suitcase on the chair and checking the bathroom that was empty as well. He was ready to call the Captain when, marching towards the exit, he almost crashed against the man himself. 

“Woah- easy there,” John said, keeping his balance thanks to the crutch he was using. 

“Mister Kennex?” A nurse called from down the corridor, studying them, “Is everything alright?” 

“Yeah, my partner just thought that I was kidnapped again.” He sighed and she slowly nodded, still keeping an eye on them. 

“That is not funny,” Dorian said, stepping away to let him enter, noticing John was wearing a pair of short trousers and a blue shirt. “Where did you get the clothes?” 

“A nurse found them for me since my partner was busy.” 

“You didn’t ask me. I could have-“ 

“Dorian.” John patiently interrupted, “I’m joking.” 

Dorian shut his mouth, watching him sit on the bed. “Still, if you need something." 

"I'm good for now. Don't worry." John said with a little smile. 

The DRN just kept staring. "How are you feeling?” 

“Better. The doctor said that I'm fine, despite been drugged for months… And that I just need to rest.” John kept his eyes down, on the missing leg. “Hey… Can you do me a favor?” 

“Of course. What do you need?” 

“A scan. Of me.” John said, reluctantly looking up. “Can you check me up and see if- I don’t know, there’s something wrong?” 

Dorian looked surprised. “I can, but I thought the hospital already did that?” 

“They did, but… I’d trust your results more.” He said, embarrassed when the android smiled. “Don’t make me ask you twice, ok?” 

Dorian just keep that little smile on his lips. “Stay still.” He said, starting the scan. 

“You don’t want me to stand up?” 

“There's no need.” 

John nodded, straightening his back a bit, watching Dorian’s face covered of blue streaks. After a while, he started feeling embarrassed under that intense glare and just looked down again. 

After another minute, Dorian’s face was clear. “I found nothing unusual. Your heartbeat is slightly faster than normal, though.” 

“Alright… Thanks.” 

“Why you wanted me to check on you? Something’s wrong?” 

“No. It was just to make sure.” 

Dorian studied him, and then asked with a lower voice, “Is it about what happened last night?” 

“Uh? No. That’s- no. It was... I was just tired.” John was already feeling bad for lying, but he felt even worse watching Dorian look down, clearly feeling responsible for his strange behavior. “Look, I told you I’m a mess right now, but that has nothing to do with you. Maybe I should listen to the doctor for once and just take it easy until I’ll get better...” John continued, and the DRN nodded in silence. Sighing, he then looked at the briefcase. “What is that?” 

“Your leg.” 

“My-? Really?” John could stop a relieved smile when Dorian opened it, showing a new synthetic leg. 

“Let me check the base, so I can-“ Dorian kneeled in front of him, but stopped, surprised, as John flinched back. 

“It’s fine. Rudy checked the base this morning. I can do it myself.” He said taking the leg, careful not to touch Dorian's hand. _How many lies I’m going to tell from now on?_ he asked himself while 

“Of course…” Dorian stood, giving him some space, checking that no mistakes were made in the process. 

The new leg was almost a perfect copy of the old one, so John studied it briefly before installing it to the base. He heard and felt it clinking in place and shivered, while a wave of withe light traversed the whole leg before it turned to the usual skin-color.

Dorian saw him taking a deep breath, but not moving. “You want to try to stand?” 

“Yeah…” 

Confused, Dorian saw his smile fading, leaving the place to a sad expression. “John, what’s wrong?” 

He looked up just for a second, shaking his head. “I think I owe Rudy an apology.” 

“What you mean?”

John sighed, rubbing his thumb over the synthetic leg. “I always used to hate this thing, but I can’t do anything without it.” 

“That’s not exactly true.” 

“You saw me in that parking lot. How useless I was. How close to give up I was.” 

“But you didn’t.” 

“No, because you-“ as John stopped himself, and Dorian curiously tilted his head. 

“Because of me?” The android asked, voice as calm and honest as always. 

John was unable to hold that gaze. “Because you didn’t give up on me. If an android says that I can do it, I guess I can.” 

Dorian smiled a bit. “You did. And I’m very proud of you, John. About both, surviving, and accepting yourself a bit more.” 

Maybe there was something to be happy, but John hated himself at that moment. He wanted to hug the android, he wanted to kiss him again, and he couldn’t do any of that. _Because I’m a goddamn liar. Because I don’t deserve Dorian’s trust. I’m just as trash as InSyndacate._

“John?” 

He blinked and looked up. 

Dorian was still smiling. “Try to stand up? I’ll catch you if you fall.” 

John took a deep breath and nodded. If that was as close as he could get to Dorian, it would have been enough.

. * . 

It was a week after being hospitalized that John was finally able to move back to Los Angeles with Dorian and Rudy, while Captain Maldonado and the rest of her team left few days before to start focusing deeper into the investigation. John told her everything he could remember and, if something else would have come to mind, Dorian was ready to send an update straight to the Captain.

Aside from that, John could only continue the rehabilitation, trying to sleep, eat and, very slowly, start feeling more like himself again. Not that that came easily: being able to use both legs sure helped, but the first days it seemed that that was just making his balance worst. It took a lot of patience to start seeing some results.  
After a week, the doctors agreed to let him go back home. 

Dorian didn’t leave him for a second during their trip and during the ride to John’s apartment, while Rudy proceeded to the police station. 

“It’s so weird...” John breathed out from the doorway, staring at the whole place. “I was here just a few weeks ago... With a different body.” 

“Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?” Dorian asked. 

“Yeah... I want to sleep in my bed.” He nodded, heading straight to the bedroom. 

Dorian decided to give him have some privacy. Looking around, he noticed dust on the furniture and in the corners of the apartment and decided to clean at least the majority of it.  
Later, when he checked inside the bedroom, he found John asleep on the bed, the synthetic leg still on. 

Unsure if it was the case to remove it or not, he gently grabbed John’s shoulders to wake him up and tell him to put the prosthetic to recharge. “John? You shouldn’t sleep with the-“ he froze and the other flinched and groaned a bit into his sleep. 

Letting him go, Dorian did a scan on him but found nothing unusual. He looked at the synthetic leg and started to remove it, as carefully as he could, putting it into the charger, in the living room.  
Replaying that last memory, he couldn’t explain why John reacted like that at his touch. After a while, he warned Rudy he was going to stay there for the night. 

John woke up just a few hours later, gasping for air and shaking. He instantly noticed his right leg was gone, and he would have screamed if Dorian didn’t materialize next to him a second later. 

“John? You ok?” 

“Why- where’s the- where’s-“ 

“I put your prosthetic to recharge. I tried to wake you up, but you were deeply asleep.” Checking his vitals, Dorian could see John’s heartbeat going worryingly fast. “John-“ he barely brushed a hand over his arm, but John jumped and scooted away, flashing him with a so angry and so scared look that the android just froze on the spot. 

It lasted just for a second, though, and then John let out a quick, “Ok,” looking down, as his shoulders kept jumping up and down. 

“I’m sorry,” Dorian said, his voice low and sad. 

“Can you-“ John took a deep breath, passing a hand over his face before trying again, “There’s still something to help me sleep, in the bathroom?” 

“I’ll go check,” Dorian said and left the room. While inspecting the cabinet above the sink, he replayed that angry expression multiple times, and each time it just made him feel worse because he caused it- even if unintentionally. 

He found a few pills not expired, and brought them to John with a glass of water that he drank in one gulp.  
After that, the night passed uneventfully.

The morning after, John woke up at 10 AM. 

He moved out of the bed feeling already tired, staring at the clothes of the day before he slept into, not feeling sorry about it.  
Looking around the room, he noticed the prosthetic leg placed on a chair Dorian probably moved in there while he was asleep. 

John sighed, remembering too well the scene he made that night: when he woke up without a leg, for a moment he thought that he never really escaped InSyndacate, and that the experiment wasn’t over… Seeing Dorian rushing into the room helped, but when the android almost touched him, the last thing John needed then was another storm of scary, unwanted feelings. He couldn’t take it, so he moved away from the touch, and then it was too late to feel a bastard for doing so.  
He knew Dorian was worried, he stayed just to help, and he made him feel like he was not welcomed. 

Standing up, John grabbed the leg and put in back in place, waiting for the usual _click_. Leaving the room, he found Dorian sitting on the couch, staring in front of him, expressionless. “Dorian?”

The android blinked and turned to him, his expression softening. “Good morning, John.” 

“Kind of late for that…” he murmured sparing a look at the clock. 

“It’s understandable. You still need to rest.” Dorian said observing him sitting on the desk’s chair. When their eyes met, he continued, “I’m sorry if I scared you tonight. Removing your leg without your permission wasn’t the right thing to do.” 

“It really wasn’t,” he sighed tiredly, “but I overacted. If that happens again, just ignore it, ok? It’s gonna take a while for me to get back on track, but I’m trying my best.” 

“I know you are. You have made a lot of progress so far,” Dorian nodded, dead serious, “and I don’t want to be the reason for you to not get better as fast as you want.” 

“I’m telling you, it’s not your fault. You did what you thought was logical. I know I shouldn’t sleep with this on, but-”

“John, have I overstepped again?” Dorian interrupted, “Staying here without asking you, I mean.” 

“No. No, it’s fine if you stay. I actually thought you probably would have, since it was late…” 

“But do you _want_ me to stay?” 

“Yes.” John quickly replied, surprising them both. “It's fine. I'll tell you if I want you to leave.” 

Dorian seemed to relax a bit. “I’m sorry for what I did.” 

“Don't worry about it.” John sighed standing up, heading to the kitchen and opening the fridge, “I should- woah, is this cheese?” 

“That is probably three months old.” 

He groaned and shut the fridge’s door closed, staring at him from there. “Chinese?” 

“You just got out of the hospital, John.” 

“Cheeseburger, then.” He announced going to grab the phone.

Dorian stared patiently at the human, wondering if it was really everything alright- if keeping the memories of their kiss for himself was the right decision. He kept smiling, feeling a pang of pain from inside his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished editing this gigantic epilogue!  
The alternative version of chapter 1 and 2 will come next, together.

. Epilogue . 

Two weeks after the news that John Kennex was still alive spread, Sandra Maldonado was still elaborating the idea.  
The memory of his funeral was still too vivid, and how she almost, _almost_ decided to leave the police that same day. Of course, that was a detail no one knew.

“Good morning Captain,” Valerie greeted her as she entered the busy room. 

“Good morning. Did you get the results from-“ 

“Yes. I leave it on your desk.” She nodded with a smile. 

“Thank you. I’ll take a look at it, so we can-” as Sandra turned to her office, she froze, seeing John himself sitting on the chair in front of her desk. 

“Before you start yelling at me,” John quickly said, raising his hands as she stormed inside, “I’m here as a mere civilian.” 

Her rage deflated in a long, deep breath. “You better.” She said closing the door and dropping the bag on the desk.

“I don't want to give you a headache first thing in the morning.” 

“I really appreciate it.” They stared at each other until they both smiled. “I’m not gonna lie, it’s good to see here, John.” 

“It feels pretty good,” he nodded. 

“Where’s Dorian?” 

“Paying Rudy a visit. I was told they spent a lot of time together while I was gone. Rudy probably misses him.” 

“Immensely, I’m sure.” She commented sitting down. “I actually wanted to talk to you about Dorian…” 

“Ok…?” 

“But first, there is any particular reason you’re here right now? Anyone else tried to kill you?” 

John snorted, “Not yet. It's just a friendly visit.”

“Good.” 

“So, what about Dorian?” 

Sandra turned the computer on and then tangled her hands together in front of her. “He’s currently staying with you, correct? In your apartment?” 

“Yeah… About that-“ 

“It’s alright,” she stopped him, “That is not a problem.” 

"You sure? I know he is the department’s property, but- he’s just helping while I- try to get back into my life.” 

“I’m glad he’s able to do that, and yes, he is our property, _in theory_…” 

John frowned. “_In theory_? You don’t want to kick him out, right?” 

“No, of course not.” 

“Because he did a hell of a job during my kidnap. He-“ 

“I know he is an excellent agent, John.” She patiently stopped him, “and I already cared to let my superiors know about it. I explained to them how well you two can get along even in a case as absurd as this one was… We had nothing and he managed to find and save you basically by himself.” 

John swallowed. “They want to transfer him to another department?” 

“Not as long as I am alive,” Sandra said, dead serious, but her voice was as calm as usual, making John grin. “What I managed to arrange, considering Dorian’s excellent job and your actual situation, is to give him to you as a private android.” 

John blinked, trying to elaborate. “Sorry, what?” 

“He's taking care of your recovery, isn’t he? I'm not saying that is against the rules, but giving you actual permission to keep Dorian with you 24/7 will save the department from filing a lot of documentation about why a DRN stopped reporting daily here at the station like the other androids do.” 

“I can tell him to come back here- it was that told him to stay, but he knows he shouldn’t. I don’t want to put you or him in trouble because I’m a mess…” 

“I have explained everything to the superiors already, and they agree to give him to you as long as needed. He’s still your partner, and he will keep working for the police, the only difference is that he'll be under your responsibility during the time off work.” 

John looked down, too many doubts crossing his mind. “I- I don’t know. I should ask him...” 

“Ask _him_?” She repeated, unsure. 

“Ask Rudy,” John added, saving himself an embarrassing mistake. “Maybe he still needs him… I’d prefer be sure he’s fine with it too.” 

“Ok… Sure.” Sandra slowly said. “Just try to give me an answer as soon as you can.” 

John nodded, wondering how he was going to talk about this with Dorian. 

Leaving the office, John headed to the elevator and then downstairs, to Rudy’s laboratory, wondering if keeping Dorian as a _private android_ was a good decision. _What if he doesn’t want to? He hates being considered as an object and now I should make him my private property?_ John felt horrible just thinking about it. 

He found an MX at the laboratory's entrance: Sandra told him they were keeping one guarding the place for a while. 

“Detective Kennex.” The blonde MX announced, staring and probably scanning him for identification. 

John nodded, ready to proceed, but then backtracked to stand in front of him. “Uh, good work keeping my friend safe.” He said, moving a hand forward. 

The MX stared blankly at him, at his hand and then back at him, returning the gesture, squeezing it way too tightly. “It is my duty, sir.” 

“Ow- yes, thank you.” John quickly let go, massaging his hand while walking inside: touching the MX, he felt nothing. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

“John.” Dorian smiled at him from the chair where he was sitting, bare chest- actually, chest-open, with a wire hanging over his belly. 

“I left for ten minutes and you’re being operated? What happened?” 

“It’s just a check-up.” Rudy said coming back from behind the DRN, putting the dark glasses above his head. “Someone has to since you don’t care about these things..” 

“Last time John tried to check on me ended up with putting chewing gum into my head.” Dorian informed. 

“Hey, it worked though,” John snorted. 

“I trust you, Rudy.” He continued to say to the mechanic that just sighed and put the wire back inside of him, a light _click_ coming from inside his chest. “I can finish here. I think the prototype 89 is starting to melt.” 

“What? Oh no!” Rudy gasped running into the other room. 

John moved closer to the DRN that shut his own chest closed and started putting his shirt back on. 

Dorian noticed his glare a second later. “Something’s wrong?” 

“Uh? No. No, everything’s fine.” 

“Have you talked with the Captain already?” 

“Yeah… She’s more than happy to have me out of her way for another week.” 

“At least." Dorian sighed and, once dressed, they kept staring at each other. “There’s something else?” 

“No. Well… Yeah, maybe- maybe we should talk about the-“ John’s phone started ringing then, and he sighed, checking the screen. His face changed instantly. “I have to answer this. Hold on.” 

Dorian watched him moving away, forcing himself to not spy on the call. Instead, he stood up and wore his jacket as well. 

“He’s getting better, isn’t he?” Rudy asked walking back with an android’s head into his arms. 

“I don’t know,” Dorian answered in all honesty, “but I do know that he _wants_ to get better.” 

Rudy smiled a bit, “Talking about John, I'd see it as a progress.”

Dorian returned the smile, and then heard the other coming back. 

“Hey, uh- I need to go somewhere. You coming?” John asked him. 

“Of course.” 

“Ok. See you later, Rudy.” 

“Don’t overdo it.” He said waving a hand, watching the two leaving the laboratory. 

Once at the car, Dorian sat on the driver seat: they both agreed to let him drive until John would have completely recovered. “So, where are we going?” 

“Here,” John said putting their destination into the car’s GPS.

Dorian frowned, "It’s going to be a two hours trip. Are you sure you'll be alright?” 

“It'll be alright... You don't have any program for the afternoon, do you?” John asked, grinning. 

“Taking care of you takes all the time at my disposal, John.” He sighed as the car started moving into the traffic and their trip began.

They spent most of the time listening to the radio in the calm silence between them. 

When Dorian tried to ask him about the discussion they left unfinished at Rudy's, he found John asleep, so he silently kept driving. 

John woke up from a dreamless sleep and kept quiet for a while, watching the highroad switching place with a fancy neighbor: large, well-painted houses started appearing around them, most of them pretty far from each other, along with trees perfectly cut on both sides, and bushes of white and red roses to complete the perfect scene.

“Can I ask you why are we here?” Dorian said when they were a few minutes away from their destination, well aware that the human has been awake for a while now.

John took a deep breath, sitting straighter against the seat. “It’s kind of a promise.” 

Dorian nodded slowly. "So you’re not considering to transfer here?” 

“To live here?” he scoffed, laughing. “No, man, a place like this would drive me insane.” 

“It is pretty nice. They are also using a very good surveillance system.”

“Yeah, no doubt.” He murmured looking at the houses. 

“So, what is that promise about?” Dorian gently insisted as he stopped the car, noticing the man was staring at the three-floors house on the right: an elegant fence was protecting it all around; the highest floors were hidden by the trees placed in line right after the white wall, but it was possible to see the wooden details of the building, the roof, and a long balcony on the left side, where branches of ivy were growing. “That's where are we going?” He asked, but the other didn't answer. “John?” 

“Yeah... That's our destination.” He nodded, turning to him. “Remember when I told you about the DRN that helped me escape? I talked with him for a while, and he told me that he had been kidnapped too and that InSyndacate deleted his memories from the past, but- somehow he got few of those back while they were using us for their experiment.” 

Dorian nodded slowly. “If he was part of the connection, they should have expected something like that to happen.” 

John looked unsure, “You think?” 

“I don’t know the exact process of the experiment, but DRNs were created to be different. I can’t say that I’m surprised about their choice of using one of us for such a thing.” 

_"Find immortality"_ John remembered Doctor Brook saying. _Trying to fuse humans with a machine… I tested it myself, after all, so, on some degree, it is possible…_

Dorian gave him another moment before asking, “You think he used to live here as a private android?” 

“I do. I mean, I’m not sure. He couldn’t remember his owner’s name- or its own, for the matter…” 

“You said Doctor Brook referred to him as Christopher.”

“He did, but I found no DRN named like that in the archive still available. He couldn’t remember the names, but he said he used to play for her, so it’s a woman, and she should play some instrument…” 

“And that brought us here?” 

“And that brought us here, to Camille Emani.” John nodded, watching him instantly check the name. “She’s a professional pianist that retired years ago.” 

Dorian nodded while reading all the information he could get: Camille Emani, age 26, moved to the United States from India when she was two years old. “There is a lack of data about her family… Her age doesn’t fit with the date she’s born,” he said, frowning. 

“I know, the info isn’t updated, that’s why it took me weeks and lots of promises to get an address. Apparently, they wanted to disappear, at some point.” 

“Around five years ago.” 

John froze for a second. “What did you just said?” 

“The last update on the Emani's family has been made around five years ago.” 

_That's when Christopher said he started working with InSyndacate._ John didn’t believe that to be a coincidence not even for a second. “I need to talk to her. You wait here for now, ok?” 

“Why?” 

“Because I don’t know how she could react with finding a DRN in front of her door. I don’t want to screw this up.” 

Dorian looked offended, but also curious. “What do you mean? How you think she could react?” 

“Well… I mean…” 

“She hates her DRN?” 

“Quite the opposite…” 

“So, what’s the problem?” 

“The problem is I’m still too weak to deal with your rebel side, so can you please wait here for five minutes?” 

Dorian studied him and then just looked in front of him. “Yes, sir.” He commented coldly- still offended. 

John sighed and moved out of the car, heading to the gates. Once there, he admired the large garden kept in the dark by the trees all around the house; there were more roses in there as well. “Alright…” he murmured to himself pushing the button on the column on the left, waiting. 

After few seconds, a female voice answered. “Yes?” 

“Uh- hello. Sorry to bother, I was looking for Miss Emani?” John asked, confused by the moment of silence that followed. “Camille Emani? I’m not sure this is the right address, but it’s the only one I’ve found.” 

“You think you’re funny?” the voice suddenly became angry. 

“No, I-“ John tried to say, but then heard the violent _clack_ as the communication was interrupted. Confused, he turned to the car, just to see Dorian with a blank expression, showing him a thumb up. “Oh, for God’s sake…” John groaned ready to push the button again, but then he heard a door slamming open and saw a woman marching towards him: he saw her long gray hair first, and the elegant cream-colored dress she was wearing, keeping a black, little jacket over her shoulders- then, he noticed the shotgun into her hands.

“Huh, ma’am?” he called taking a step back. 

“You think you can come back here just like this? IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE AND SAY HER NAME!?” She yelled opening the gate. 

“I think there’s a misunderstanding! I-“ John was forced to jump back to avoid to be hit by the gate, tripping on the bushes and falling into the roses and thorns, too worried for his life to bother about the pain. 

“I’ll show you the _mistake_!” She growled ready shot, but Dorian was quicker and grabbed the shotgun, rising it to aim at the sky. 

“We mean no harm,” Dorian told her, “but I can’t allow any act of violence against Detective Kennex.” 

John was still down, but saw her suddenly getting paler, almost terrified. 

“You…” she murmured, staring at Dorian, and then her cold face dropped, just before she fainted. 

Dorian kept the shotgun in one hand and held her with the other, confused between being angry or worried. “John, you ok?” he asked turning to him that was trying to stand up. 

“Yeah…” he nodded, removing few thorns from his jacket. “We better take her back inside before we get in trouble.” 

“You think we can enter her house without permission?” 

“She almost shot me in the face. I don’t think she’ll be offended.” 

The inside of the house was even fancier than the outside, with dark-brown furniture, lots of paintings on the pearl-colored walls, or even drawn on them directly; the corridors were slim with high ceilings from were circular and very detailed chandeliers were hanging. All the windows were covered with orange curtains, sending a warm light into the whole house. 

Once closed the door, John saw a large dining room on the left, connected to the kitchen situated into the other side; a stairway was visible from the main corridor, the wooden banister shining under the light coming from upstairs. Proceeding down the corridor, they found the living room on the left, a very large room with big windows on the front, facing and giving access to the garden. Dorian gently let the woman lay on the couch before making an identification scan on her. 

John briefly looked around, at the shelves filled with books, a few even on the floor, before moving closer. “Is she alright?” 

“Yes,” Dorian said, putting the shotgun on the fairest table. “She’s Jodi Emani. Camille’s mother.” 

“Does it say if they live together?”

“No, but this is indeed Camille's last address.” 

“There’s someone else in the house?” 

It took Dorian a moment to check. “No, it’s just the three of us.” 

Jodi Emani woke up then, blinking a few times before quickly sitting and standing up, looking between them as ready to fight. 

“We’re not here to hurt you, nor your family,” John said taking a step back, raising his hands. He saw her looking at the shotgun, but Dorian was already in front of it, keeping a cold glare on the woman. “Mrs. Emani, am I right?” 

“I don’t know who you think you are, but now I’m going to call the police, and then you’ll talk with _them_.” She hissed moving to grab the phone. 

“I am the police,” John said, and she stopped before dealing the number. “I’ll show you my badge, ok?” He continued, slowly taking it out from inside the jacket and handing it to her. 

Jodi snatched it from his hand without breaking eye contact. She then studied the ID. “Detective John Kennex.” 

“That’s me. And this is my partner, Dorian.” He nodded, gesturing at the DRN still guarding the weapon. 

“I don’t know you and I don’t think I did anything that can justify your presence here,” she coldly said, throwing the badge on the couch. “Also, I don't think I invited any of you for the tea.” 

“I'm aware. We just thought it would be better not leaving you unconscious outside-” 

“Thank you so much for your help, _officer_,” she said with a sarcastic, sweet voice that quickly turned ice cold again, “Now get out of my house before I tell my lawyer to go talk with your superior.” 

“I know coming here without warning was-“ 

“I said get out!” 

“Please, I'm asking you- I’m begging you to grant me some of your time to talk as soon as possible.” He finished. “I was just looking for Camille. I really need to talk to her.” 

“**Out.**” She growled one last time, phone in hand, looking ready to hit him with it rather than using it to call. 

John nodded and took back his badge before looking at Dorian, gesturing him to go. 

“Are we leaving without interrogating her?” The android asked heading to the door. 

“It’s not an interrogation. I don’t even know why I came here in the first place...” John sighed. 

“What do you want from Camille?” Jodi asked from the living room’s entrance, shotgun back in hand. 

They both turned around and John said, “I wanted to talk to her about Christopher.” 

Jodi’s eyes widened. She briefly looked at Dorian, then back at the other. “Christopher? Our Christopher?” 

John was surprised by the change of expression on her face: she looked way younger, and almost- hopeful. “You used to have a DRN here, right?” he asked and she nodded. “That’s why I was looking for Camille. I… I think he was important to her?” 

Jodi kept staring, clearly hesitant. “We can talk, but the DRN has to wait outside the room.” 

“I won’t leave him alone with you.” Dorian quickly replied. 

“Yes, you will.” He snorted.

“John, she tried to kill you!” 

“You'll keep the shotgun while we talk,” John insisted, looking at the woman that nodded once, leaving the weapon against the wall before disappearing into the living room. 

“This is too dangerous,” Dorian told him. 

“It'll be fine. While we talk, you go check the rest of the house,” John said, lowering his voice. “If you find anything, you can interrupt us.” 

“What if she hurt you while I’m gone?” 

“You can interrupt us in that case as well,” John commented, sighing at the nervous glare he got in return. “Look, I don’t think she’s dangerous… She just doesn’t trust us, and that’s understandable.” 

“She hates me, for some reason.” Dorian murmured, sounding a bit offended about it. 

“I think she hates the fact that you look exactly like Christopher.” 

“So he has probably done something bad to her, or to her family?” 

“That’s also what I want to ask her.” 

Dorian stared at him for another moment and then nodded. “I’ll check this floor. Don’t do anything stupid.” 

“I would never.” John snorted heading to the living room where he found Jodi standing in front of the windows, looking at the garden outside. 

“I heard about you somewhere, before. Kennex…” She said, turning and staring intently at him. 

“Yeah, I’ve been told my death was kind of a big thing, months ago,” he said stopping close to the couch, in the middle of the room. "Presumed death." 

“The news didn’t get my full attention. Mind to explain?” 

John sighed, trying to be patient. “I got hurt and kidnapped during a case. I have been rescued just a few weeks ago.” 

“And what all this have to do with Christopher?” 

“He helped me escape.” 

Jodi’s expression changed at that, even so slightly, and she quickly looked away. 

“Mrs. Emani, I’m not here to force you listening to me. If I'm making this meeting uncomfortable for you, I’m sorry.” John said. “If you want me to leave, I will. I just hope you will consider arranging another meeting, whenever you’ll prefer.” 

She took a deep breath and slowly looked back at him. “Your DRN… Can you assure me that he’s not Christopher? That he has nothing to do with him?” 

“Dorian? No, he’s- he’s just Dorian. Always been.” He replied, confused. 

“Then where’s Christopher?" She asked, her voice weaker than ever, "What happened to him?” 

“He... He sacrificed himself to save me.” John said, and saw her cold façade slowly crumbling as she sat down on a chair, trying to hide the tears with a hand. He quickly moved closer, not sure of what to do. “I’m sorry. I-“ 

“If that’s the truth, there’s nothing to apologize for.” She said, letting out a long breath, slowly shaking her head. “It’s something I prepared for so many times… Hope is such a painful thing.” 

John gave her a sad look, then asked, “Do you need some water? I can-“ 

“I’ll need something stronger than water to listen to you, Detective.” She said standing and moving to the minibar on the other side of the room, filling two glasses with whiskey, and then sat on the couch, gesturing him to do the same, offering the drink. “How did he help you escape?”

“I don’t know exactly how he did it, but he managed to take me out of that place. I was- we both have been used as test subjects for some sick experiment.” He said, keeping the glass in one hand. Jodi just kept staring, so he continued, “I don’t remember much of the months I've spent there, but Christopher told me he knew what they were doing was wrong, so he decided to help me.” 

“_They_… You mean InSyndacate?” she scoffed, expression and voice as cold as ice.

John couldn’t hide his surprise- and the spike of tension that made him skip a heartbeat. “You know them?” 

“Unfortunately, yes. And I know they kidnapped Christopher five years ago. I always knew…” she said, tightening the grip on her glass. “They started gently, asking me if I wanted to sell him. After I refused all their offers, they decided they didn't need my permission, after all.” 

“Why didn’t you call the police? InSyndacate is on top of our lists. We could’ve-“ 

“I’m talking about years ago, Detective,” she stopped him, “When InSyndacate wasn’t that big of a deal… It was before their people started killing whoever was against them. And years before DRNs started getting addressed as a malfunctioning series and all of them replaced.” 

John relaxed a bit, starting to understand. 

“That’s the only reason why they didn’t tell authorities I was keeping an old, not updated DRN: they needed him as he was.” Jodi continued. “I tried my best to keep him safe, but they were just waiting for an opportunity. I should’ve known.” She brushed another tear away, trying to compose herself. “What have they done to him?” 

“All he told me was that they deleted his memories, but that some of them were coming back to him- memories about his previous family. He couldn’t remember his owner's name- he called her master, but he told me she hated being called like that.” 

Jodi’s face suddenly softened, a sad, little smile appearing on her lips. 

“He also said he used to play for her… That was my starting point to find out about your family. He was referring to...?” 

“My daughter. Camille.” She nodded, the smile slowly fading. “Christopher was her personal DRN.” 

John felt a weight lift from his shoulders, as it used to happen after solving a case. “Can I contact her somehow and tell her about it? I'm sure she-” 

“She’s dead, Detective. One year after Christopher was gone.” 

John was so taken aback, he just stayed there, mouth half-open, speechless. 

Jodi smiled sadly at him. “Have you ever experienced a bond so strong, so deep, that when the other is gone, it feels like you lost a part of yourself?” She asked, “That is what happened to my daughter. She needed him to live. And InSyndacate knew that.” 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know…” 

“Very few people know. After what happened, I spent years to have her and most of my family’s history deleted from everywhere. I just- I wanted to be left alone.” 

“Sorry, I- I don’t mean to be rude, but… What you mean saying that _she needed him to live_?” John asked, unsure.

Jodi emptied his glass in one gulp before standing up. “I’ll show you.” She said leaving the room, finding Dorian waiting in the corridor. She stared at him for a moment, then said, “You can come too,” and proceeded upstairs. 

John shared a look with Dorian before they both followed her. 

On the second floor, Jodi walked down the corridor until they reached the last door on the right. After taking a deep breath, she opened it and gestured them to enter.

Dorian let John go in, but he stopped, studying Jodi for a second. “I’ll wait here.” He said, earning a little, weak smile from her. 

John took a few steps into the dark room, trying to adjust his eyes to it, making out the silhouette of a large bed, a table, a desk, and more shelves on the walls. There was also another large object in the right corner of the room…

“I don’t come in here very often,” Jodi said moving to one of the tall windows and opening the curtains a bit: the daylight cut into the darkness, hitting the object in the corner: a piano and it's seat, covered by a white blanket; next to it, there was a wheelchair. 

John felt a shiver ran over his back, and looked away, at the shelves filled with books; the bathroom’s door, open… He then noticed Dorian staring at something on the left and, following his gaze, he found a giant painting left unfinished on the large wall: the drawing was meant to transform the entire wall into an open window, with roses on the lower base, a blue sky outside, but the rest of the world outside was missing. 

He heard a sigh, and found Jodi next to him, staring at the wall with watery eyes. 

“This wall is just a reminder of how Camille felt that last year,” she murmured. “They started this painting together. She was so excited about it...” 

John looked back at the wall, at the beauty of its colors, and how that white, empty center felt like a void nothing could fill. 

“She was victim of a car accident when she was twenty years old,” Jodi said, “In which she lost the ability to walk, and her right arm. As you can imagine, it drastically changed her life- our lives.” She said, turning, slowly moving to the piano. 

“It wasn’t operable?” John asked, following.

“The damage on her spine no, it wasn't. They gave her a prosthetic arm, but it didn't encourage her to play the piano again. She said that it wasn’t the same; that her music wasn't hers anymore, and she hated it, so she stopped playing altogether. There was no way to change her mind.” 

John felt a pang of sadness at that, because that situation was too familiar to him. 

“Those have been the longest and hardest two years of my life…” Jodi said, sitting on the bed next to the piano. “Then, a friend told me about the DRNs. How they were different from the other androids, and how easy it was to get along with them. We never had androids in our house- Camille has always been kind of scared of them, so you can imagine her reaction when Christopher arrived.” She smiled a bit. “I still remember the screams echoing between these walls… And how Christopher just let her yell at him for days without saying anything.” 

“Anything at all?” John asked, surprised, sending a sarcastic glare at Dorian that just patiently shaken his head from the doorway. 

“Nothing. He was instructed to be her personal DRN, so he continued assisting her, screams or not.” Jodi continued. “Then, one morning, she was too exhausted to fight, and just stayed quiet… That's when Christopher smiled at her and said _Good morning, Camille_.” 

“Ouch,” John commented sitting next to her. 

“I thought she was going to hit him, but- she started laughing instead. That was the first time I heard her laugh since the accident… And it was thanks to an android.” She took a deep breath, shaking her head. “After that day, things get better. They slowly started to get along. He managed to make her eat a bit more, and go outside… The progress she was making in that one year were incredible. I could see her being herself again, and how Christopher was growing more attached to her.” 

“And you were not- worried about it?” 

“I was,” she admitted. “When lots of DRNs started being taken away and substituted with other models... I heard them being described as _crazy_, but I couldn't see any of that in Christopher. He was always respectful, and so caring towards us. He just… He wanted to stay with Camille, and she was happy having him around. That DRN saved my daughter, so I trusted him.” She stretched towards the bedside table and opened a drawer, handing him a picture. “This is the last picture I took of them.” 

John's heart skipped a bit staring at the photo: there was a beautiful girl sitting on the grass, her long black hair mixing with the green, while few were laying over her chest and stomach; her skin was as brown as chocolate, and her dark eyes were looking at the DRN sitting next to her with a surprised smile on her face, and he was smiling watching her. 

John knew that it wasn’t Dorian, but the way they looked at each other… There was such a complicity in those looks, John couldn’t stop feeling jealous for a second- and then guilty about it. 

“They loved each other,” Jodi said, making him look at her again. “People tried to warn me about DRNs. InSyndacate tried to scare me, but watching that smile on my daughter’s face has always kept all the doubts away from me.” 

“All of them?” John asked almost apologetically.

Jodi looked down at the picture for a long moment. “If there was something that worried me, Detective, was making Camille suffer more than she deserved. That’s what I told Christopher the first day he walked into our house... I told him I would have destroyed him myself if something happened to her, and he never broke that promise. He kept her safe. He brought her back to life when no one was able to.” She took a deep breath to calm down, looking at Dorian that was facing the rest of the house, guarding the entrance. “DRNs are different, there’s no doubt about it. Most of the people were scared of them being able to feel, but I know I would have lost my daughter if they weren’t made that way.” 

John looked at the photo one more time before handing it back to her. “You were present the day they kidnapped him?” 

“No, but I was the last person to see him. To talk to him,” she said. “He was used to go buy flowers for Camille every morning. He said he would be back soon, and I told him to be careful, but that day he didn’t come back. I knew exactly what happened.” 

“InSyndacate tried to contact you before or after the kidnap?” 

“No. They stopped months before. That’s how I know it was them. If they didn’t get it that day, they would have probably killed me and Camille later on. Maybe that would have been better than see her let herself die...” 

John saw her crying but stopped himself from taking her hand. 

She took a deep breath and brushed the tears away from her cheeks. “She was- devastated, Detective. I tried to make contact with InSyndacate myself, but no one answered my calls, so I warned the police, and all they did was charging _me_ for not having disposed of the DRN before it was stolen. I tried everything I could to find him…” Jodi sadly looked at the picture. “Camille was just starting playing the piano again…” she sobbed. 

John gave up and gently moved an arm over her arm, just for her to grab it and cry even more, covering her face with the other hand. He looked at the door, where Dorian was now looking at them, a strange expression on his face before he silently nodded and turned around, walking away.

Dorian came back a while later with a cup of tea, finding the two still sitting on the bed. 

Jodi’s eyes were still red and puffy, but she smiled a bit looking at him. 

“I hope you don’t mind me using your kitchen,” Dorian said, handing the steamy cup. 

“Not at all… Thank you.” She said with a tired and low voice, staring into the cup for a while, then looked at John, saying, “I’m glad Christopher helped you, Detective, and I appreciate you took the time to come here and tell me what happened to him.” 

“Please, just call me John,” he said. “You deserved to know the truth. You and your daughter both. He told me he was really happy with his family.” 

“He was. We loved him very much,” she sighed, “It’s a small relief that he remembered that, at least.” 

John saw her sad smile and was unable to stop the words: “I’m sorry I couldn’t bring him back to you."

Dorian studied him but said nothing. 

“Don’t apologize,” Jodi told him, taking his hand. “After everything you have been through... Christopher wasn’t your responsibility. He tried to redeem himself, and that’s- that’s very much like him.” She finished with a little smile. 

John stared at their hands touching but he felt nothing, just like with everybody else... Everybody, expect Dorian. 

Jodi then looked at the DRN. “Dorian, correct?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Can I… Can I ask you a favor, before you leave?” 

“Of course.” 

“Could you play the piano for me?” 

Dorian seemed unsure and looked at John that just shrugged. 

“It’s up to you, man,” John told him with a calm expression. 

“I know you're not Christopher... I'm not asking you to replace him,” Jodi said, “but- I think you're the only one I would ask to use it, one last time.” 

Dorian considered the request and then nodded. “There is a piece in particular that you want me to play?”

“The book should still be there…” she stood up and carefully started removing the blanket, revealing a shining, gray piano, and few sheets still on it. Jodi took a deep breath observing them. “It’s the last piece Camille worked on. I tried to remove them, even to play it myself, but... I couldn't.” 

"May I?" Dorian asked and, as she nodded, taking a step back, he gently took the sheets, studying them briefly before sitting on the stool. 

John realized they both were nervous until Dorian started playing: the beginning was fast, and then his hands started to slow down, each sound smoothly filling the room. There was kindness into those notes, a slight melancholy maybe- and something made John think of that expression of wonder he saw on Camille's picture.

“I wish I stopped him that day…” Jodi murmured sitting down away, more tears ready to fall. “He saved us, and I never had to chance to thank him.” 

“You trusted him enough to let him love you daughter,” John said. “I’m sure he knew how much you both cared about him.” 

She gave him a little, sad smile. “I hope so.” She said, and they sat there in silence, listening to how Camille opened his heart through those notes, showing her love for Christopher in the purest form she knew. 

It was evening when they left Jodi’s house. The sky was dark and cloudy, but the gentle wind was nice. 

“What a day, huh?” John said standing in the doorway, earning a laugh from her. 

“What a day.” She confirmed, watching Dorian waiting next to the car. “Is he like Christopher?” 

“You mean as a DRN?” 

“Not just that. It’s something InSyndacate said... About certain DRNs being different from each other.” 

“Different how?” 

She looked curiously at him. “You don’t think all the DRNs were just like Christopher, right John?” 

“W-well, I know they were all removed from the market because of their own program malfunctioning...” 

“Malfunctioning..." she smiled sadly, shaking her head. "They created them to feel and then suppressed them for feeling too much, despite some of them learned how to control those emotions- like Christopher did.” She said, noticing John staring at her. “Why you think they wanted to take him away from us so badly?” 

“So you're saying they were after androids able to feel like humans?” 

“To _be_ human.” She corrected him. “I was here, John, watching my daughter and Christopher falling in love with each other. I know what I saw, and I’ll never consider Christopher _just and android_. He was way more than that. He has proven to be more than that, until the very end.” 

John sent a glare at Dorian, “I don’t think Dorian is like him. He- he’s weird at the times, but…” 

“Just take good care of him,” she said with a little smile. “I’m sure he cares deeply about you.” 

“I- I’ll try to.” 

“One last thing... From what you have told me, your department will keep investigating InSyndacate, correct?” 

“We never really stopped. They make it personal a long time ago... Kidnapping me was just the cherry on top.” 

Jodi nodded, and then asked, “It would be ok for me to pass by your department and tell someone everything I can remember about InSyndacate?”

“Of course. That- that would be great. Any help is welcome.” He nodded, surprised. 

“I will, then, but I want to stay anonymous. I’ll just tell you what I know. I don’t want to be involved more than that.” 

“I'll make sure to arrange a meeting- or I can send someone here to talk to you...” 

“No. It’s time for me this leave this house, even for a little while…” she said. “Christopher knew InSyndacate needed to be stopped and gave his life to make that happen. I can drive a few hours and try to do my part. For both, him and Camille.” 

John nodded. “I’m sure they would be proud.” 

“I’ll see you there, then.” Jodi gave him a little smile. “Be careful on your way home, John.” 

Dorian watched Jodi waving a hand at him as a goodbye, and he returned the gesture until the door closed and John reached him. “You ok?” 

“Yeah,” he breathed out, “Just… A bit tired.” 

Dorian saw him opening the door and crashing on the seat, eyes closed. “Your heartbeat was irregular for most of the time we spent in that house." He said, but the other just murmured something. “Maybe I should take to the hospital for a check-up?” 

“You _did_ a check up on me. I'm fine, I just need to go home, take a shower and get some sleep… It has been a long day.” 

“John, can I ask you something?” Dorian asked, hopping on the driver seat and closing the door.

“Shoot…”

“Playing that song for her... It was the right thing to do?” 

John thought about it for a second. “You make her happy. I think there’s nothing wrong with that.” 

“It just felt weird.” 

“Weird?” 

“As if that music wasn’t made for me to play it,” Dorian said turning to him. “As if it was something- private.” 

“Maybe it was, but I think that if someone had to play that song one last time, it’s good that it was you.” 

Dorian kept silent and nodded, slowly moving the car into the street, heading home.

. - . 

The morning after, John woke up early, the apartment silent and immersed in the dark. Confused for a moment, he sat up, staring at the clothes of the day before he was wearing, minus the shoes. The panic from not wearing his prosthetic hit again, but it lasted just for a moment. _How did I get here?_ he wondered, slowly collecting memories of the trip back to Los Angeles after visiting Jodi Emani... It was hard to believe they were at her house just a few hours before, learning the story about Camille and Christopher.

Passing both hands over his face, John stood and moved into the living room, finding Dorian charging in the corner. He removed his leg from the charger and wore it before approaching the DRN, standing there, eyes closed, and asked himself what he would have done if Dorian and Christopher’s place had been inverted: John would have fought for him? To have him back? And what if he couldn’t? 

“I’m thinking too much…” John murmured to himself, casually looking at Dorian’s hand. Part of him wanted to grab it and see what he would have felt this time… Maybe nothing, maybe something that would have scarred him for life. 

In the end, John just turned around, heading to the bathroom to take a shower, hoping to send all those thoughts down the drain.

Dorian opened his eyes a few hours later, at dawn, and instantly detected the smell of coffee in the air. Heading to the kitchen, he noticed the apartment's door was ajar and he turned into that direction, finding John sitting on the stairs outside, wearing a hoody and jeans, with a cup of steaming coffee in hand. “John.” 

“Hey. ‘Morning,” he said looking up at him. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Just chilling.” 

Dorian scanned the whole area: the thin staircase to the street was empty and clear; the gate at the end was closed and there were very few people just on the other side of the street. 

“Relax. I usually sit here for a while before you wake up.” 

“You do?” 

“Yeah. You know, when I can’t sleep.” He said, getting a cold glare in return. “I’m right in front of my house. If someone has to shot me, so be it.” John snorted, taking another sip of coffee. 

“You should be more careful,” Dorian said, sitting next to him, noticing how he moved slightly away. 

“I am. I’m not working yet.” 

Dorian sighed. “You could have told me. I can change my reactivation time to-“ 

“It doesn’t happen that often anymore. The first week was the worst, but now it’s fine. I had a lot to think about… Did I fall asleep in the car on our way back?” 

“Yes. I tried to wake you up but you didn’t respond, so I took you inside and let you rest.” 

John nodded slowly, thinking about all the new informations they've got. “We really need to stop InSyndacate once and for all.” 

“I'm Jodi’s testimony will help with the case.” 

“Hope so…” John took a deep breath and then briefly looked in his direction, “Hey, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Maybe this is not the time, but- I think it’s better to make it clear before I start working on the InSyndacate's case…” 

“You want me out of it?” 

“I- what?” John suddenly turned to him, “Want you out?” 

“After what happened, after what Jodi told you, I imagined you would have considered asking for someone else to replace me as your partner.” 

John was taken aback, but he could see Dorian was serious- and also visibly worried. “Not at all. Why should I?” 

“You seemed quite shocked regarding what happened between Christopher and Camille,” he said, “and the fact that you’re avoiding being close to me since you have been rescued is… It was confusing me at first, but I think I understand now.” 

_Of course he noticed it,_ John cursed at himself. “Christopher’s story has nothing to do with us.” 

“Then why everything feels different now?” Dorian asked with a sad expression on his face. “Why it feels like you’re scared of me?” 

“Please. I’m not scared of you.” He snorted. 

“After what we discovered, I wouldn’t blame you.” 

“Enough. I’m not scared of you.” John nervously shot back, suddenly overwhelmed by the sadness and frustration that hit him while holding Dorian’s arm, but this time he wasn’t going to let go, no matter what. “And from all I know, Christopher saved that girl’s life. They were happy, and they weren't hurting anyone, so why you think I would change my mind about you based on what happened to them?” 

“Because that’s what most humans would do,” Dorian said, staring sadly at him. 

John squeezed his wrist even harder. “After everything we’ve been through, you think I would throw you away just like that, without thinking twice?” 

“Then tell me what we have to talk about. Whatever will be, I-“ 

“I wanted to ask you to be mine,” John nervously replied, and if shutting Dorian up was surprising itself, the face he made was priceless. At the same time, the sadness disappeared, and for a moment John felt nothing at all. “I mean, my- my property.” He added when the silence stretched too long. “The Captain approved for you to become my personal DRN, during my recovery. Officially, so you can stay here without alerting half of the department and- be sure I don’t drown in the shower.” 

“I won’t work for the police anymore?” 

“You will. You’ll still be my partner, the only difference is that I’ll be responsible for you in the time off work.” John said, and slowly felt a sense of calm and happiness washing over him. 

Dorian slowly smiled. “And you wanted to ask me first?” 

“Of course. I couldn’t just- turn you into a maid without telling you,” he snorted, letting him go. “You can still refuse. Maybe I can fill some other kind of permission to-“ 

“Do _you_ want me to stay?” Dorian asked. 

"Yeah... Keeping your charger in the living room is not a problem. There's plenty of space.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes. I’m getting used to it. To you. To have you around.” John sighed and looked down, almost slapping himself in the face for all that blabbing. 

Dorian studied him for a long moment. “John?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You still don’t remember about that last day you were an android, do you?” 

John felt like a stab straight into his heart. “Not yet. Why?” he asked looking at him. He was a good liar, but- lying to Dorian felt so wrong. 

Dorian held his gaze but then shook his head. “Just wondering.” 

“Alright… Well, the Captain is waiting for an answer, so when you decide-“ 

“I agree,” Dorian said, smiling again. “If you’re ok with it, I agree to be yours.” 

“O-ok… Good. We’ll need to find another way to say it, though…” John murmured, blushing a bit. “I’m gonna send a message to the Captain, then. She wanted to be informed as soon as possible...” That said, he stood and walked back inside. 

Dorian kept watching him from the stairs, unable to delete the memory of their kiss. Turning around, looking at the sky, Dorian started playing Camille's song, just for him hear it, feeling the music entangling with the warm feeling growing inside his chest.

**End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wonders, Camille's song is inspired by "Playing Love", by Ennio Morricone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And- last part. These are Chapters 1 and 2, but the version showing what John actually said during the time he couldn't speak. This is also the version I wrote first, so, I don't know, it feels right to post it.   
*Note: this version might be less edited than the final one*

**Chapter 1 **

Dorian opened his eyes and Rudy’s lab appeared in front of him: everything was normal in the dim light. His system showed him it was five AM.

He was sure that wasn’t the last place he had been before his eyes closed, but the files of the past twenty hours were missing. Fully charged, he tried to move out the cabin and noticed, with mild surprise, that he was blocked into it by metal bars around his torso and legs, and his right arm was missing. 

Dorian scanned the area. “John? Rudy?” He called, but there was no answer. Looking down, he knew he could easily get free destroying the restrains, but… 

“Hey. You’re awake.” 

Looking up, he saw Valerie Stahl approaching. “Detective Stahl. Why am I stuck in here?” 

“Dorian, we-“ 

“Why is my arm missing? Where’s John?” 

“Listen to me for a sec, ok?” she said rising a hand to stop him. 

“Part of my memory has been removed. I don't-” he insisted, pulling against the bars a bit.

“It was necessary to understand what happened. We needed to check your records. It’s been a few days already, so-” 

“Days? For how long I have been deactivated?” 

“Five days, since your last assignment.” 

Dorian was used to always rely on his own records and data… Missing what he needed the most was like having a flaw in the system that no one could fix. “I can’t remember about that. John should-“ 

“Detective Stahl, you’re not supposed to be here.” A man in a black suit said, walking towards them. 

Valerie sighed, “I just wanted to-“ 

“This DRN is not authorized to be operative at the moment.” He said staring briefly at the android before walking behind the recharge chamber. 

“Why not? I’m detective Kennex’s partner,” Dorian asked, trying to get free again. “I don’t understand…” 

“Sir, please,” Valerie moved closer to the man. “We know he did nothing wrong-“ 

“Where’s John?” Dorian kept asking but no one answered him. He worryingly looked at the laboratory one last time before his system shut down again.

.-.-.

“Dorian?” 

It was almost completely dark when Dorian opened his eyes, sitting on the floor, with Rudy kneeling next to him. 

“You know who I am?” 

Dorian blinked once. “Of course I know who you are, Rudy.” 

The mechanic sighed in relief. “Good, that’s- that’s good. I was worried they might have messed with you and- nevermind. I’m happy that you’re alright.” 

Dorian slowly looked down, finding his right arm back in place. Scanning the area, he realized it was the storage where the unused androids were kept. He could see them hanging behind and in front of him, and on the other side of the room. “Why I’m here? Why-“ he blinked again, sounding frustrated, “Why I can’t move?” 

“That’s because I- I can’t completely reactivate you yet, I'm sorry. I shouldn’t be here in the first place…” 

“Rudy, what is going on? What have I done?” 

“Nothing. You-” 

“Then why I’m here? I was talking to detective Stahl before, in your laboratory, but a man turned me off again.” 

“I know... I know, I should have-“ 

“I needed to talk to John. Why I’m not with him?” 

Rudy took a deep breath. “Dorian, I… I am sorry I couldn’t wake you up sooner. I wasn’t allowed to see you until this morning…” 

“What do you mean?” 

“It’s been a week since you talked with Detective Stahl.” 

It took Dorian a second to elaborate the information his system couldn’t confirm: he wasn't even connected to the net anymore. “Have I done something wrong?” He asked again, his voice lower now, “That’s why John doesn’t want me as his partner anymore?” 

“No, nothing like that… That’s why I came here to wake you up.” Rudy shook his head and showed him a little USB drive. “These are the memories- I mean, the records I was asked to remove from your hard-drive a week ago. The Captain said there’s no problem giving them back to you, but…” 

“But you don’t want to?” Dorian finished, studying his expression. “Why?”

“I’m just saying that maybe- maybe it would be better to do this once you’ll be out of here. It'll be a matter of days by now...” 

“Rudy, I can't wait. I need to know.” 

“I knew you’d said that…” Rudy sighed looking down at the USB drive he was moving between his fingers. 

“If it’s important, please, let me remember.” Dorian said. 

The other took a deep breath and moved closer, putting the pen in the port behind his head. He then saw Dorian’s blue eyes shine, face blank while the data started to flow back into the system. 

Dorian finally found the records of his and John’s last mission: thief had been reported attacking a scientific clinic... to steal projects of chemical and biological weapons… 

_“Are they trying to steal some virus? Ugh… I hate those.” _

_“Are you an expert about biological weapons, John?”_

_“You bet. I deal with you all day. No virus can't be worse than that.”_

Dorian could see John grinning sitting next to him, driving the car while talking about the case… It was like traveling back in time. He saw him parking in front of the building and checking the gun before leaving the car. Then, Dorian's eyes moved to the right to do the same, and then up, when a sudden explosion on the fifth floor of the clinic occurred. 

_“Shit… let’s go!”_ John yelled running towards the building. Once inside, he looked at the upper floors; people were screaming everywhere for help, trying to escape. _“Status?”_

_“The building’s stability is compromised. Evacuation protocols already started, but the last three floors are inaccessible.”_ Dorian heard himself answer while scanning the security system of the clinic.

_“Call for backups, tell them we have civilians to evacuate. We’ll try to- hey!”_ John stopped one of the guards, asking for information. 

Dorian looked up when there was another explosion, creating a waterfall of debris inside the building, from the third floor, straight down into the atrium where they were. He saw John taking the guard and another man to safety; then, looking up again, Dorian saw a woman falling down and quickly moved to the left to catch her into his arms. _“Everything is ok. You need to evacuate the building.” _ he told her and she barely nodded, covered in dust, crying a shaky ‘thank you’ before leaving. 

_“Good catch. Give me a hand with that,” _ John commented running past him to help other people stuck under more rubbles. 

_“The building is not safe. John, you should-“ _Dorian froze as he picked up a signal, and it took him a few seconds to find the origin. _“They’re going to destroy the building.”_

_“Yeah, I can see that!”_ John snarled pointing other civilians towards the exit before moving closer to him, coughing a bit because of the dust.

_“I mean there are more explosives underground.”_ Dorian explained and saw the man staring back, thinking. _“John-“_

_“There are still people in here- and I’m sure some of the sick bastards responsible for this are still around as well...” _

_“I can go downstairs and try to deactivate the bombs.” _

John looked unsure. _ “How much time do we have? _

_“I can’t tell from here.” _

_“Then forget it. It could blow up in your face while-“ _

Another explosion on the upper floors just confirmed his words. Dorian looked up, spotting too many critical damages in the structure. _ “John, you have to-“ _ he managed to say before half of the third floor started crashing down, almost breaking the atrium’s floor, making them fall and roll away, hitting harshly against the chairs and tables of the bar close by. Dorian quickly turned around, scanning the area to find his partner through the dust: John was few feet away, pieces of debris falling from his back as he tried to push himself up. _“Are you alright?”___

_ __“Never been better,”_ John coughed. _“How many bombs you’ve detected?”_ _ _

_ __“At least three more below us.”_ He said offering a hand to help him up, while quickly using the other to hold a piece of wall from falling on the man. _ _

_ __“There are still too many people in here…”_ John said looking up, hearing other screams. _ _

_ __“We can’t do anything to save the building,”_ Dorian said, checking that the exit was still available- then he looked above, alarmed. _“John-!” _ _ _

_ _Dorian could now remember the explosion that made the ceiling collapse on them, and how he had been _pushed_ away before finishing that sentence, falling on the ground, on his back- and then the sound of metal crashing his right arm. _ _

_ _His system shut down after that, until he woke up again in Rudy’s lab._ _

_ _The records stopped and he was in the storage again. Blinking, he turned to the mechanic that was staring worriedly at him. “John was injured in the accident? How is he?” _ _

_ _Rudy swallowed and looked down. “We haven’t found him yet.” _ _

_ _“But… It has been more than a week ago.” _ _

_ _“Everyone is still searching for him… The whole building collapsed, Dorian,” Rudy looked up at him, and that blank expression almost scared him: he suddenly looked like any other MX. “Dorian…?”_ _

_ _The android blinked again, his eyes slowly changing, his face showing a mix of confusion and disbelief. “John didn’t survive?” he asked. “He died?” _ _

_ _Rudy took a deep breath before talking. “They’re still searching. Maybe- I’m sure he’s…” Rudy left the sentence unfinished. After a brief silence, he added, “You tried your best, we know that- we all saw that. No one blames you for anything. Once I’ll get you out of here, we’ll join the research. I- I’m sure there’s still hope to find him.” _ _

_ _Dorian said nothing. He suddenly felt- empty.__

__.-.-.-.-.__

__Dorian’s eyes were already open while his system started updating. Blinking and sitting up in one motion, he slowly scanned Rudy’s laboratory that was empty and silent. Looking down at himself, he was wearing the usual clothes._ _

_ _Dorian immediately checked the news, and multiple titles quickly started appearing: _“Detective John Kennex’s body still not found”; “Police officer missing in action… The heroic man arrived first during the attack at the clinic and gave his life to…”_ _ _

_ _“Hey.” _ _

_ _He put the articles away and looked up. _ _

_ _Detective Paul stared at him for a moment before saying, “I thought I would’ve never seen you up and working again.” There was no anger nor sarcasm into his voice- but he looked unsure when the android didn’t answer. “They reset you or something?” _ _

_ _Dorian shook his head. “No, detective. I’m still… Me.” _ _

_ _He nodded. “Alright…Well, I- I was looking for Rudy. Is he here or…?” _ _

_ _“I don’t know. I wasn’t operative until a few minutes ago.” _ _

_ _“I see… I’ll come back later, then.” _ _

_ _Dorian watched him turning around to leave. “Detective.” He called, and the man stopped, looking back at him. “I am sorry.” _ _

_ _“It's nothing important...” _ _

_ _“Not about Rudy,” he continued, and the man looked clearly puzzled. “I mean- about John. I-” _ _

_ _“We know what happened,” Paul interrupted, voice flat and serious. “The situation got very bad very quickly. Too quickly, even for someone like you.” _ _

_ _Dorian said nothing, watching the detective leaving without saying anything else. _Someone like me…_ _ _

_ _He slowly placed a hand over his chest, where humans have a heart, and where androids have nothing. There was no heartbeat, and Dorian wondered if John was just like him now.  
That thought made him clench the fabric even tighter. _ _

_ _

_ _When Rudy came back, he smiled a bit finding the DRN sitting on a chair, but the blank expression on his face made that smile fade. _ _

_ _Dorian looked up hearing footsteps and just stared at him. _ _

_ _“Sorry, I- I know, it took quite some time to have you back and online.” Rudy said. “I asked to keep you as my assistant for a now… Temporarily, of course. Always better than being closed in a plastic bag, right?” _ _

_ _The android said nothing, looking down again. _ _

_ _Rudy sighed, moving closer. “You don’t deserve that. John would have never-“ he stopped, then continued, “Two months have been more than enough to clear your situation.” _ _

_ _“And what is my situation now?” _ _

_ _“Well, you are a perfectly functional DRN, so Captain Maldonado insisted to keep you in this district. Maybe back on the field, in the future.” _ _

_ _“I’m not suitable for the field.” _ _

_ _“What? No, you're-“ _ _

_ _“I have failed in my duty. How can I-” _ _

_ _“Dorian, that clinic was completely destroyed that day," Rudy stopped him, "The building doesn’t exist anymore. It took days to find you- it’s a miracle that you made it with a broken arm.” _ _

_ _“I wasn’t the one that needed a miracle,” Dorian said, eyes down._ _

_ _Rudy pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a moment before sitting next to him. “John knew the risks of his job, and that never stopped him from jumping face front into the danger.” _ _

_ _“I just… I don’t understand…” _ _

_ _“What you mean?” _ _

_ _“Why he pushed me away?” Dorian said, sounding vaguely angry, “_He_ pushed me away. How I didn’t notice the danger before he did?” _ _

_ _Rudy sighed. “He acted by instinct...” _ _

_ _“But why did he saved _me_? I'm just an android.” _ _

_ _Rudy felt tears forming into his eyes. He never heard Dorian talk about himself that way. “He did what he thought was right. He wanted to save a friend.” _ _

_ _Dorian felt that mix of emotions forming into his chest again, strong enough to make him grasp tightly the edges of the chair. He looked down without saying anything else, and he barely talked during the next days. _ _

_ _

_ _A week later his awaking, Dorian was called into Captain Maldonado’s office. _ _

_ _It was evening, the police station half empty, and Dorian took the opportunity to stare at John’s desk for a moment, now empty. _ _

_ _He forced himself to look away and move to the office. Knocking on the glass-door, he saw the Captain looking up and gesturing him to come in. He did, closed the door and stopped in front of the desk. _ _

_ _Sandra Maldonado put her glasses down before looking at him. “It’s nice to see you, Dorian,” she said, voice soft as usual, but her eyes were a bit red. _ _

_ _“Thank you, Captain. Rudy told me it is also thanks to you if I’m still operative.” _ _

_ _“There was no reason to lose a good agent like you,” she smiled a bit, just for a moment. “I know it’s not easy to go back to our lives after what happened… That’s why doing our best now is even more important than before.” _ _

_ _Dorian saw her blinking away the tears. “I am sorry, Captain.” He slowly said. “Protecting my partner was my duty. I have been reactivated just for that purpose, and I failed.” _ _

_ _Sandra stared at him in mild surprise, then smiled a bit and shook her head, standing and taking his hand. “Dorian, you have saved John’s life many times before, and in many different ways. He was very aware of that, and so am I. Having you as a partner was the best thing that happened to him after the coma.” She gave him another little smile. “And I told the same thing to my superiors. I can’t assign you to another agent at the moment, but if you want-“ _ _

_ _“Staying with Rudy is fine.” He said, maybe a bit too fast. _ _

_ _“Of course. I hope to see you around here, from time to time. My door is always open for you.” _ _

_ _Dorian nodded and turned to leave, but then stopped again. “Captain, can I ask you- if there are any updates about John?” _ _

_ _She took a deep breath. “They haven’t found him yet. Few other victims are still missing as well… That’s all.” _ _

_ __Victims. John is a victim._ Dorian nodded again and left the office._ _

_ _

_ _Few days passed after the meeting with the Captain, and everything seemed normal… Just, empty. As if nothing was important anymore. _ _

_ _Dorian was staring out the window, at the sky getting darker. He never experienced this emptiness before. Not since he woke up to a grumpy detective threating to throw him out of the car once a day… Yet, he never did. _ _

_ _It was as if something wasn’t right. As if the world lost the spark Dorian never noticed existed in the first place... How could John’s absence change everything around him so much? _ _

_ _He considered ask Rudy about it, maybe something in his system was malfunctioning, but he was scared to doing so. _ _

_ _“Over here… Yes, in there. On the table.” _ _

_ _Dorian turned to the entrance of the lab, watching a few people bringing inside a human-sized, gray plastic bag that they placed on the table. _ _

_ _“Are you sure you want to keep it?” One of the men asked Rudy that was right behind them. “It’s pretty much just trash.”_ _

_ _“Just because some people can’t make it work, doesn’t mean is trash… Here.” Rudy handed back the pad after signing it. “Thank you for your help.” He said and the three men nodded a salute and left. _ _

_ _Dorian moved closer, staring at the bag. “What is this?” _ _

_ _“Ah- probably just- unnecessary charity…” Rudy smiled a bit embarrassed, opening the zip of the plastic bag. “I little bird told me about him a few days ago. No ID or fabrications mark. They were going to disassemble it, to save what was still useful, so I- oh.” _ _

_ _Dorian watched him spreading the bag open: inside there was an android with the appearance of a young man, around twenty years old; short black hair so in contrast with a pale skin covered with few cuts and scratches leaving the slim and silver wires beneath it exposed; he was wearing just a t-shirt and a ruined pair of trousers, barefoot. “What’s wrong?”_ _

_ _“I was expecting it to be a recent model... This is- a very, very old one.” Rudy murmured, scratching the back of his neck._ _

_ _“Why did you bring him here?” _ _

_ _“Well, let’s say that I know some people get easily tired of their androids and want to get rid of them just as fast…” he said, and Dorian simply stared blankly at him. “I mean, not too many people, and not that frequently, mind you. I just have ears around the city and I- I sometimes buy androids like this one and try to fix what I can. Better me than the black market, anyway.” _ _

_ _A little smile appeared on Dorian’s face. “That is very kind of you, Rudy.”_ _

_ _“Yeah, well… That’s all I can do. Let’s see what happened to this one,” he said walking away to retrieve the equipment he needed. _ _

_ _Dorian started a scan on the unknown android, but got no valid information, just as Rudy said. Unsure, he moved a hand over the android’s ear and put a finger into it: the body flinched and then his green eyes flashed open._ _

_ _Rudy moved closer, looking between them with a box of tools in his arms. “What did you do?” _ _

_ _“His activation system is similar to mine.”_ _

_ _“Really? He’s a DRN?” _ _

_ _The unknown android blinked and sat in an instant, looking frantically around himself, at Rudy that slowly waved a hand at him, and then turning to the DRN next to him. _ _

_ _“It’s alright. You’re safe here,” Dorian told him, but that scared look on the android’s face caught him off guard. _ _

_ _“Dorian…” The android said, surprising them both with a relieved smile before clinging his arms around the android's chest. _ _

_ _Dorian blinked, unsure, and looked at Rudy that seemed as much surprised as he was while saying, “I… I guess you got a new friend…?”__

__\- . - __

__“…And we need to get those bastards! I don’t know exactly what they did, but it was some experiment shit! They must have kidnapped me after the incident at the clinic- they were probably the same people!” _ _

_ _Rudy and Dorian kept staring at the mysterious android yelling and gesturing nervously in front of them with the same confused expression on their faces. _ _

_ _“Guys, we can’t waste any more time! Have you find them yet?” he insisted, frantically looking between the two, sitting on the table where he just woke up. _ _

_ _“I- I don’t…” Rudy started, not sure how to continue. “Well, at least we know why they wanted to throw him away.” _ _

_ _“What? Throw away who?” the android asked, frowning. _ _

_ _“Maybe his language program has been damaged. You think you can fix it?” Dorian asked._ _

_ _“What are you guys talking about!?” the android yelled angrily. _ _

_ _“It’s alright,” Dorian tried to calm him down while moving in front of the mechanic that took a step back. “You are talking nonsense for us. We can’t understand what you’re saying, but we can try to fix your problem.” _ _

_ _The android looked between them, visibly lost. “What you mean you can’t understand what am I saying? I’m talking to you right now!” _ _

_ _Dorian tried his best to find a logic in those random sentences, a code to crack, but all his researches got him to nothing. “I’m sure we will be able to fix it. He’s Rudy. I’m Dorian.” _ _

_ _“I know who you are…” the other groaned, sounding so defeated while passing both hands over his face. _ _

_ _“Do you have a name?” _ _

_ _“**It’s John**! Damn it, can’t you see?! It’s me!” He snapped jumping down the table, standing right in front of him- and then narrowed his eyebrows, unsure. “You’ve always been so tall?”_ _

_ _“L-look, is not that bad,” Rudy tried to say, “If your system is similar to Dorian’s, I’m sure I can-” _ _

_ _“What the hell do you mean with _fixing my syst-_” He started yelling again, and then abruptly stopped, looking aside for a moment before running away, into the other room. _ _

_ _“Ok... Well, this- this is something new.” Rudy commented, getting a serious glare from Dorian before the DRN followed the android, finding him staring into a mirror, and asked, “Are you alright?” _ _

_ _“They turned me into this…? I'm an android? ” the android murmured, staring angrily at his reflection._ _

_ _“If you’d let us help-“ _ _

_ _“How can Rudy help me with this?! I’m not even- this thing it’s not me!” he yelled turning back to him. “This isn't by body! I know for damn sure that I’m not a robot!” _ _

_ _Dorian was feeling almost as frustrated as the other looked, so he explained again, “You are using random words in a not specific order that is impossible for me to understand. If you let us help, I’m sure we can find a way to communicate with you. Is that ok?” _ _

_ _The android just looked at the mirror one last time before turning to him and nodding in silence._ _

_ _

_ _Once sure that the situation was under control, Dorian left Rudy taking care of their _guest_ while he moved away to recharge. The unknown android tried to stop him, holding his arm and saying something else about birds and planets, but all Dorian could do was reassure him that there was no need to worry and that he could trust Rudy. _ _

_ _Early in the morning, Dorian opened his eyes on the silent laboratory, finding Rudy sleeping on a chair with a tablet still in hand. He approached him, gently grabbing his shoulder. “Rudy?” _ _

_ _“-the connection… Huh… Oh, good morning, Dorian.” _ _

_ _“Good morning. Is everything alright? What happened to him?” he asked looking at the android laying on the table, unmoving. “Is he…?” _ _

_ _“Deactivated. He’s fine, I just- it was making me nervous, so I… I turned him off.” Rudy admitted, a bit ashamed._ _

_ _“What you mean?” _ _

_ _“Well, he… After you left, he started talking again- talking nonsense, that is,” he explained standing up and moving closer to the table, “And he was very talkative too. I think he asked me something, but I couldn’t understand what, so he got angrier. Then he jumped down the table to use the computer...” _ _

_ _“The computer?” _ _

_ _“Yes, but- I guess his system is more damaged than it seems because he clearly had no idea of how to use it... He started smashing on the keyboard so I decided to turn him off.” Rudy let out a deep breath. “I didn’t want to, but I thought the situation was going out of control…” _ _

_ _“You did the right thing,” Dorian nodded, staring at the younger android and his completely blank face, eyes still open. “Still, I don’t think his system is that old. He should be able to use this technology.” _ _

_ _“That’s what I thought, but he was totally lost in front of the screen. He kind of looked surprised himself…” _ _

_ _“Did you do more tests? Found anything out of the ordinary?” _ _

_ _“Yes I- It was taking a while, so I let them run during the night. They should be done by now.” Rudy moved to his desk and checked the computer. “Well, this is unexpected…” _ _

_ _“What is?” _ _

_ _“It says that I’m not authorized into the system.” Rudy turned the chair to face him. “It blocked all the tests before they even started.” _ _

_ _Dorian looked between him and the android. “Is it possible that someone upgraded his system. Maybe he has been hacked?” _ _

_ _“Or someone _tried to_ and failed, so they got rid of it…” Rudy murmured thoughtfully. “I mean, why bother to hack and android to prevent him from using a computer? Or a pen. He can’t even write, we tried that too while you were asleep.” Rudy stood up and would have fallen forward if Dorian didn’t support him. _ _

_ _“Rudy, you should rest. I’ll stay here and check on him. Maybe I can find a breach into the system.” _ _

_ _“No… No, I don’t want you to get damaged by whatever strange thing is inside this guy's skull. I’ll try again later…” _ _

_ _Dorian smiled a bit, appreciating the concern. “Ok, but now go get some rest.” _ _

_ _“Alright... Wake him up if you want, but be careful. And call me if you need.” _ _

_ _Dorian nodded, watching him walking into the office. Once alone, he looked down at the android and scanned him, but the result was still the same: no identification code, no fabrications marks, and access to the system denied. After contemplating what to do for a moment, Dorian decided to activate him again. _ _

_ _Those empty, black eyes suddenly shined green and the young android bolted awake, looking left and right before holding into Dorian’s arm for dear life, “’the hell happened? You- Rudy turned me off?”_ _

_ _“It’s alright-“ _ _

_ _“How can you help me if I’m- if you turn this thing off?!” _ _

_ _“I need you to calm down. Please.” Dorian insisted, his voice even and low enough to not alarm Rudy. “I still can’t understand what you’re saying.” He added._ _

_ _The android slowly shook his head in defeat, letting him go. _ _

_ _“Let me take these off of you so you can sit,” Dorian said. _ _

_ _“What? Oh, God…” the android seemed to notice only then the wires attached to his neck, quickly turning the other way. _ _

_ _Once finished, Dorian help him sit up and they stared at each other for a while. Blue streaks crossed Dorian’s face again, but, no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t get any information. “Rudy turned you off because you seemed upset. He was worried for his own safety.” He explained, but the other just stayed silent, eyes down. “We need more information about you, but your system doesn’t allow us to get them. Do you know why?” _ _

_ _“I guess the plan was making my life a living hell, for some reason.” The android commented coldly. _ _

_ _Dorian considerate more options. “I have a few programs to try that maybe could help me understand what you’re saying. Please, keep talking.” _ _

_ _The android looked up, a tired expression on his face. “Why are you here with Rudy?” _ _

_ _Dorian blinked once. “Again.” _ _

_ _“Did you looked for me after the accident? Have you found the responsible?”_ _

_ _“One more time, please.” _ _

_ _The android sighed, studying him up and down. “I'm glad you survived the explosion.” _ _

_ _“None of my programs seem to work,” Dorian said, frustration creeping into his voice. “I can’t detect any possible translation... Still, you can understand what I say, correct?” _ _

_ _The android’s eyes quickly moved back on him, a hopeful expression appearing on his face. “Yeah- that’s right, I can! We can start from this and-“ _ _

_ _“Nod for yes and shake your head for no, please.” Dorian interrupted, making him sigh nervously, but also nod. “Good. It's a good starting point.” _ _

_ _“You better do the right questions.” The android commented, waiting. _ _

_ _Dorian considered how to proceed. “Do you know what day is it?”_ _

_ _“I don’t know… I was gone for a few days?” he asked back, but then remembered the rules and shook his head in no._ _

_ _“Today is September the 14th. The year is 2049.” Dorian informed, and saw him staring for a second before his eyes got wider. _ _

_ _“It’s been months since the accident…?” the android murmured. _ _

_ _“Do you have any memory of the time before you were reactivated here?” Dorian asked, and the answer was another nod. _ _

_ _“Come on man, it’s me. Just say my name and we can start from there.” The android said scooting a bit towards him, apparently eager to answer. _ _

_ _Dorian held his gaze, wondering what John would ask an android unable to talk. “Your system is heavily locked and that is preventing us from fixing your problem. Someone installed some kind of protection into it?” he asked, and the answer was a shrug, clearly standing for _I don’t know_. “You know who might have done it?” A pause, then the android nodded slowly. “Is the same people that threw you away?” _ _

_ _The android almost tried talking again, but then shut his mouth and looked down, unsure. _ _

_ _“You don’t know?” Dorian came to his help and he shook his head. “Did they use you as an experiment?” _ _

_ _“No shit, Sherlock.” He commented, and then sighed, nodding. _ _

_ _Dorian kept staring in silence, and when their eyes met, he said, “You don’t seem to act like a normal android.” _ _

_ _“Look who’s talking…” the other replied, voice low._ _

_ _Dorian could see his frustration miles away. He curiously noticed him rub a hand over his left knee. “Rudy said your system blocked all his tests. We are going to try again today and-”_ _

_ _“Rudy always blame me for being a bad friend, and he doesn’t even have a picture of me in this damn lab,” the android snapped. “How am I supposed to-“ he suddenly stopped, staring at him, “You can check on me. Do your _robot thing_.” He said moving closer and grabbing his hand. _ _

_ _Dorian let him, but just stared back. “I will try to help as I can.” He said, but the android shook his head and placed Dorian’s hand over his hair, staring intently at the DRN that started to understand. “You want me to check into your system?” He asked, and the other nodded. “We considered that option, but we need to know more about you before trying that.”_ _

_ _The android just kept staring, slowly letting him go. “What the hell happened to you? I feel like I’m talking to an MX.” He said with a serious voice._ _

_ _A beeping sound came from the other room, and Dorian was the first breaking eye contact. “Wait here.” He said before turning to check the screens. He wondered why talking to that mysterious android felt so different. Rudy was probably right: they needed to make more tests, and then-_ _

_ _Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and then an alarm started ringing, making Rudy ran back into the lab, still half asleep “W- what happened?” he asked, noticing the unknown android was gone and then saw Dorian close to the exit, where the glass door had been destroyed. “Where’s the android?” _ _

_ _“He escaped.” Dorian said moving back to him. _ _

_ _“What? Oh no…” Rudy sighed staring at the door. “Ok, we- we need to find him. He’s under my care, now. If something happens-“_ _

_ _“I’ll go after him-” _ _

_ _“Wait! I put a tracker on him before, just in case. We can follow the signal…” he said moving to the computer._ _

_ _“Send me the info.” _ _

_ _“Ah- ok. Be careful!” Rudy yelled, but he was already gone._ _

_ _Once outside the building, Dorian received the tracker’s signal from Rudy a second later and he started running._ _

_ _After a while, he started seeing the signs of the android escape: two cars stopped in the middle on the road and people pointing down the street; he then saw the table of the bar fallen aside, with people trying to help others to stand… The mysterious android was still running, but it didn’t seem he wanted to hurt anyone- not intentionally, at least._ _

_ _Dorian slowed down to help few people as well before continuing the chase on a bridge. Once on the other side, he saw the android a few meters away. “Wait!” _ _

_ _The other turned around and then keep running. _ _

_ _Dorian could keep the android on sight now, still, where he was heading was a mystery. He kept following him down the street, then up an emergency ladder that led them on a roof, and then more stairs, going higher, until the android froze for a second before jumping down the second roof.   
Dorian was getting closer now, and when he followed, landing on another building, he would have caught him if the android didn’t suddenly drop on his knees and opened a window placed beneath him, disappearing inside the building. _ _

_ _Dorian stopped for a second before jumping after him- and the android was there, standing in the dark living room. “Why you tried to escape? We just want to help.” Dorian said, “You put people in danger-“ he stopped as his system scanned the area and informed him of their current location: they were inside John Kennex’s apartment. The house was silent, everything just as John left it the last time, but with a layer of dust on it. _ _

_ _Unsure, Dorian blinked and tried to focus. “Why did you come here?” _ _

_ _“Because it’s my house.” The android said with a low and serious voice, without turning around. _ _

_ _“You know this place?” _ _

_ _“IT’S MY HOUSE, DORIAN!” He yelled again, looking at him with such anger and frustration. “It’s me, and this is my house!”_ _

_ _Dorian kept scanning him, blue streaks flashing on his face, but none of those words made any sense. “You know who used to live here?” _ _

_ _The android tried to calm down and nodded. _ _

_ _“How?” he asked, but the other just looked around, spreading his arms and letting them fall down, unable to answer. “You know that person is dead?” _ _

_ _“I’m not dead! I’m right here!” The android yelled, stepping closer. “Ok, not- not exactly _here_, but I’m not dead! They must be hiding me somewhere to keep this experiment going!” _ _

_ _Dorian’s eyes widened a bit and he grabbed him by the arm. “You know what happened to him? You know something about the accident that killed him?” _ _

_ _The android was ready to yell again, but then stopped, holding him the same way, but his voice turning lower and desperate, “I’m not dead, Dorian. I don’t know what they did to me, but I’m not dead. And I need your help.” _ _

_ _“Freeze!” Two police officers break into the apartment then, guns in hand, aiming at the two androids. “Both of you!” _ _

_ _“Officers.” Dorian salute them turning around and scanning their IDs. _ _

_ _“I said don’t move!” _ _

_ _“I’m the assistant of Doctor Rudy Loom. He has sent us here to retrieve some documents.” _ _

_ _“Documents?” One of them said, “You know who this place belongs to?” _ _

_ _“This is John Kennex’s apartment. Yes, I’m aware.” Dorian nodded. “I was his partner.” _ _

_ _The two agents shared a look, then one of them said. “I’ll call Doctor Loom. You take them in custody and deactivate them until-”_ _

_ _“You go deactivate yourself!” The android angrily shot back. _ _

_ _The officer that was moving closer took a step back, unsure. “What the hell?” _ _

_ _“He has problems speaking. Doctor Loom will fix him as soon as we get back.” Dorian tried to reassure him, stepping in front of the other. “Please, there’s no need to deactivate us. If you call him-“ _ _

_ _“You better shut your mouth.” The other agent said, grabbing the radio while turning to his friend saying, “Don’t let them out,” before going outside the apartment._ _

_ _Dorian spared a quick look to the other android that was staring at the desk where John left his notes about new and old cases._ _

_ _The other agent kept talking on the radio until he nodded and walked back inside. “Doctor Loom confirmed the story,” he told his friend and then looked at Dorian, “We’ll escort you back to the station once you’re done here. Be quick.” That said, they both moved just outside the door. _ _

_ _Dorian nodded. “We should-“ turning to the android, he saw him quickly entering John’s bedroom. Following, he felt that strange pain again looking at the room, and the clothes left on the bed… He realized that John never came back there after that tragic day either. _ _

_ _The sound of something ripping apart made him turn to the corner where the android was kneeling on the floor. “What are you doing?” Dorian felt anger at the thought of something that belonged to John being destroyed, and he harshly grabbed the android’s shoulder, trying to pull him back, but the other get free and pushed him away instead, making him fall down. Ready to start a fight, Dorian was taken aback when the android moved closer, almost on top of him._ _

_ _“Tell me this remind you of something,” the android said, handing an old music magazine, “You get this, right? It’s our joke!”_ _

_ _Confused, Dorian studied the magazine, staring at the disco ball occupying the front cover- and then, the android put the fragments he just ripped away from another page on it: it was the face of a random person. A singer, from the ID scan he did on it. “I don’t-” _ _

_ _“You do! Think harder!” the android insisted pointing at the _collage_ he made. “I know you keep those memories, so try to remember!”_ _

_ _Dorian tried his best to find a connection. “I should know this person?” he asked looking at the singer’s face, and the android looked down, shaking his head before pointing at the cover and then at Dorian’s face. _ _

_ _“I don’t see how a disco ball and a face can be related to-” Dorian suddenly stopped, streaks flashing over his face as he connected those words to a memory of the past. “Disco face…” he murmured and the other smiled hopefully, grabbing his arm, nodding. “Only one person called me like that,” he said, intently studying every inch, every detail of the unknown android, and, slowly, all those expressions and reactions started to feel familiar… _ _

_ _“It’s me.” The android said, a plead into his voice as he bumped his free hand against his own chest. “Come on, man… I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s me.” _ _

_ _Dorian kept staring at him, this time no streaks appearing on his face. He blinked once and tiled his head bit, narrowing his eyebrows, unsure, as an absurd idea hit him. “…John? It’s you?” _ _

_ _The android’s shoulders dropped in relief as he smiled more, nodding and holding his arm even tighter.__

__ ** Chapter 2** __

__“Ok… I think we’re good for now,” Rudy said walking inside the lab, passing through the broken door. “No one was hurt and we kept the damages on minimum, so…” looking up, he found Dorian staring between him and the other android, visibly nervous. “Please, if someone died, I need to know.” _ _

_ _“No, no one was hurt, but… I think he might be John.” Dorian said. _ _

_ _Rudy opened his mouth, closed it and then tried again, “What? What you mean?” _ _

_ _“This android,” Dorian said looking between them. “I can’t give you a logical explanation, but I think this android might be John.” He continued, while Rudy was so confused he couldn’t even articulate an answer. “I know it sounds crazy…” _ _

_ _“Wait- wait, wait…” Rudy stopped him raising a hand, sparing a brief look at the other android sitting on the table, between them. “Dorian, are you trying to say that this android _is_ John? Our John?” _ _

_ _“I know he’s not, physically speaking, but he showed me something only John knew.” _ _

_ _Rudy took a deep breath, shaking his head. “Dorian…” _ _

_ _“You can’t deny the way he’s acting is strange-“ _ _

_ _“He’s acting like a damaged android.” Rudy stopped him, angry like he rarely was. “I was already considering that probably someone hacked him to be- to _act_ so weird. He could be a weapon, for all we know.” _ _

_ _“Really? A weapon?” the unknown android commented, sarcastically lifting his eyebrows. _ _

_ _“I understand that it’s hard to believe, but-“ Dorian continued._ _

_ _“Indeed, it is.” Rudy interrupted again. “I know you suffered a lot because of John’s death. We all did. We still do. This is… How can you even think of something like this? And expect me to believe it?” _ _

_ _“I’m just-“ Dorian tried to insist, but Rudy already walked away. He saw the other android jumping down to follow. “John-“ he called, unable to stop himself, and the android turned around at the name, making everything more difficult. “You are not lying, are you?” _ _

_ _The android sighed and shook his head in no._ _

_ _“Then let me talk to Rudy. Alone.” Dorian said, stopping him when he tried to follow. “He’s right... I should have been more considerate about this. Just give us a moment.” He added, and the other nodded, while the DRN entered the office, finding the mechanic standing in front of the desk. _ _

_ _Rudy looked briefly back at him before looking down at the robotic butterfly on his hand. “Why? Just tell me why you want to bring John into this?”_ _

_ _“Please. If you can try talk to him one more time-“ _ _

_ _“What if I don’t want to? What makes you think that I want to play this- this sick game?” _ _

_ _“It is not a game. It’s the truth.” _ _

_ _“The truth is that John is dead. He’s not-” _ _

_ _“He called me disco-face.” Dorian said. “Only John knew that joke. He’s the only one that ever called me like that. The first time was during a case, and there was no one else with us.” _ _

_ _Rudy just sighed again, leaving the butterfly on the table, “He can’t talk. How did he-“ _ _

_ _“He used this.” Dorian handed him the magazine he was keeping under the jacket. “And if this is not enough, after he escaped, he ran straight to John’s house. He knew where it was, and he did all he could to make me understand.” _ _

_ _Rudy stared at the cover and the fragments of paper, the face, just for a few seconds. “And you believe him because of this?” _ _

_ _“He’s desperate-”_ _

_ _“He’s just scared of being destroyed.” _ _

_ _Dorian wanted to insist, but watching Rudy dropping the magazine on the table, looking so sad, it made him hesitate. What if Rudy was right? What if the android was just trying to save itself? "Then why he didn't try to leave the city? Why he-"_ _

_ _A loud bang interrupted him, and then several more. _ _

_ _“What else is he destroying now?” Rudy sighed running back. Once in the lab, they both looked up, on the second floor, where the android just cracked a door open. “Oh no…” _ _

_ _“I’ll stop him.” Dorian said running upstairs. _ _

_ _“That’s nothing valuable in there!” Rudy yelled at the android that was throwing random stuff out. _ _

_ _“Please, would you stop?” Dorian moved to grab his shoulder, but the android pushed him away, making him sway against the banister before throwing something big downstairs. _ _

_ _Rudy jumped back and behind the table: all of them watched the now half-broken wheelchair laying on one side on the laboratory’s floor. _ _

_ _“You haven't told anyone about that, do you?” The android yelled at Rudy before jumping back down as if it was nothing. “I told you to throw it away as soon as I got that fake leg, but I always knew you didn’t!” _ _

_ _Rudy blinked, staring at the wheelchair and then up at the android. “How did you know…?” _ _

_ _“Because i know you! Because I'm me!” he shot back, but then tried to calm down. _ _

_ _Dorian reached them downstairs, carefully following the discussion. _ _

_ _Rudy kept his eyes on the android. He then swallowed before speaking. “So I should believe it? I should believe that- that _this_ is you? That you’re- that you are John Kennex?” he asked, but the other just dropped his shoulders in frustration. Rudy stared at the wheelchair for a moment, and then asked, “How many days it took me to convince John to use it?” _ _

_ _The android looked up and then raised a hand, showing five fingers. _ _

_ _Rudy took a little step back. “The longest five days of my life…” he murmured. “John, this is… It’s really you?” he asked and, as the other nodded, Rudy moved forward to hug him. “Oh God, how- how is this possible?” he continued asking, moving back just enough to study him, “Is this a new technology? It shouldn’t even exist! You- you should be dead!” and then he just hugged him again._ _

_ _John sighed, patting his arm, realizing it was the first time he saw Dorian smiling since the day of the accident._ _

_ _

_ _It was late afternoon when Dorian came back to the lab with two coffee and something to eat. Walking through the door he fixed, he found John still sitting on a chair, face dropped into his hands, while Rudy was standing in front of him, feverishly checking something on a tablet. “Are you done with the questions, Rudy?” he asked. _ _

_ _“What? Oh. Yes. Yes, I… I think twenty-seven correct answer about John’s private life should be enough.” He said looking up and smiling at John that looked exahusted. “Thank you.” He added as the DRN handed him the coffee. _ _

_ _Dorian nodded giving the other cup to John that moved to grab it._ _

_ _“Ah- I wouldn’t drink that,” Rudy said. _ _

_ _They both stopped, looking at him and then at each other. “Right… You don’t need to drink nor eat now.” Dorian said, looking down at the cup, wondering how did he make such a mistake. _ _

_ _“This torture is getting worse and worse each second,” John sighed with a tired smile._ _

_ _Rudy watched the interaction like it was something coming from another planet. _ _

_ _Dorian placed the cup on the desk and saw him starting pacing left and right. “Are you ok, Rudy?” _ _

_ _“Ah… Yes. Actually, no. No, maybe I… I need to sit down.” He said and just did that. _ _

_ _Dorian took a step closer, sharing a look with John, that just shrugged a bit, making it clear that he had no idea how to handle this. _ _

_ _“He shouldn’t-“ Rudy started, then looked directly at John, “You shouldn’t be here. Especially not like this. You- let me show you,” he said rolling the chair in front of another screen that quickly filled with articles about the incident at the clinic and John’s death. “Not to be rude, but we haven’t found your body it yet, and it’s been almost three months now. You shouldn’t…” Rudy took another deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts. _ _

_ _Dorian watched John staring at the news, surprised for a moment, but then he looked away and stayed quiet. _ _

_ _“How is this even possible?” Rudy then asked looking at them. “If this is real- if you really are John Kennex, how… How _this_ happened?” _ _

_ _“Are you asking _me_?” John sighed with a tired expression on his face. _ _

_ _“We can ask him,” Dorian said. “He can’t talk, but he can read, and understand what we say. Yes or no questions might be helpful to the investigation.” _ _

_ _Rudy breathed out, watching John nodding vigorously. “Ok… yeah, we can do that. We need answers- we really do. I do.” He said, thinking for a second. “Do you remember the day of the accident?”_ _

_ _John nodded. _ _

_ _“What about the explosion? You saw what happened after?” Dorian asked, but John just shrugged. “You saw something but you don’t remember what exactly?” He tried to help, and John nodded again. _ _

_ _“Someone found you before us, clearly,” Rudy said, and John nodded again. He shared a tense look with Dorian that then asked, “Do you saw them? Do you know them?” _ _

_ _John thought for a moment, but then shook his head in no. _ _

_ _“Well, we can consider this as a progress.” Rudy said leaning against the back of the chair, thinking. _ _

_ _“The kidnappers must have been around the clinic that same day. High changes it was the same people responsible for the attack,” Dorian said. _ _

_ _“You think?” _ _

_ _“The reports say that the rescue team started looking for John twenty minutes after the building collapsed. Whoever kidnapped him was already in that area.” _ _

_ _Rudy crossed his arms. “We know they were looking for components in those labs… They have stolen a few,” he added as John looked puzzled, “No one was arrested, but three of the thieves died in the explosions. I don’t know if kidnapping you was part of their plan...” _ _

_ _“Then why do all this?” John asked gesturing at himself. _ _

_ _Rudy sighed before standing up and grabbing a scanner that he proceeded to use on him. “Maybe they just needed someone to test whatever they stole from the clinic… And clearly is something they don’t want to share with anyone,” Rudy continued, checking the results. “Your body is- this body is an android, no doubt about it. There are no human elements inside of it.” _ _

_ _John and Dorian both frowned saying, “Human elements?” and “Human elements?” at the same time. _ _

_ _“Yes… I mean, the first thing I thought was that they might have had transplanted your brain into this android… Something like that.” _ _

_ _John just groaned, looking away. _ _

_ _“It was the most reasonable explanation I could think of for this kind of situation, but that’s not the case- luckily for you, and my sanity,” Rudy added. _ _

_ _“Then why you sound like is not a good news?” Dorian asked, worried. _ _

_ _Rudy took a deep breath, studying John. “If this android is just an android, it means that John must be connected to it somehow, to act like- like himself. I mean, his memories are still there. Into his- into this head, but…” _ _

_ _“So you're saying that even if I'm alive, who knows where my body is?” John commented, his voice low and serious. _ _

_ _“You mean that if he’s still alive, those people are keeping John's body somewhere?” Dorian asked and Rudy nodded. “Then I should try to break into his system.” He added. _ _

_ _“Dorian…” _ _

_ _“It might be our only chance to find him.” _ _

_ _“You saw that whoever did transfer John’s conscience into this android has put defenses in there too. It could destroy you before even trying.” Rudy insisted. _ _

_ _“I can handle it.” _ _

_ _“You don’t know that. _I_ don’t know that either.” _ _

_ _“But if he’s still alive-“ Dorian stopped as John grabbed his arm, shaking his head in no. “John, this is the only lead we have! It’s been months already, what if they’re hurting you?” _ _

_ _“Get yourself destroyed won’t help anybody,” John said._ _

_ _“If I can obtain the information we need-“ _ _

_ _“I said no!” John barked, holding his arm even tighter. _ _

_ _Dorian seemed to understand the answer was negative because he just nervously looked down. _ _

_ _“I have a better idea,” Rudy said, “Why don’t you take John to the clinic? Visiting that place, he might remember something… Some details we didn’t notice.” _ _

_ _Dorian turned to John that nodded._ _

_ _“And while you two are there, I’ll try put together something to use as a test to check John’s system- I mean, this android’s system,” Rudy added standing up. He saw Dorian staring at John with a serious expression, so he added, “I know you want to help him, but we can’t rush this, ok? As you said, this is the only lead we have. We can’t take any risk of losing it.” _ _

_ _Dorian slowly nodded. “I’ll go get the car and wait outside.” He said, walking away. _ _

_ _Rudy sighed, and then looked at John that was staring at the android. “We really need you back. Especially him,” he said. “I still don’t know what is happening here, but… Dorian seems to be himself again because of you. And that’s a good sign.” _ _

_ _John smiled a bit, patting on his back once before leaving. _ _

_ _Rudy’s eyes get a bit watery watching him walk away, and he quickly rubbed the tears away, turning to the computer and start working._ _

_ _

_ _The trip to the clinic was silent, with Dorian keeping his eyes on the road and John looking outside, at the city lights shining in the early night. _ _

_ _Dorian double-checked that the area was safe, but noticed John looking at him time to time, just for a moment. There was a lot he wanted to talk about, but, if someone really was keeping John as a hostage, using him as an experiment of some sort, all he had to focus on was find a way to save him. _ _

_ _“You’re very quiet,” John said after a long moment. _ _

_ _“What?” Dorian quickly closed the data he was reading, briefly looking at him, noticing the tired expression on his face. “Right. I should be the one keeping the conversation going. Sorry.” _ _

_ _“We can always turn on the radio...” John said gesturing at the radio. _ _

_ _“No, it's alright... I was thinking about this whole situation," Dorian said. "I’m sure we will find you and bring you back home soon.” Their eyes met, but John said nothing, just nodded slightly before looking down again. “I will do all I can to save you, John.” _ _

_ _“Don’t get emotional on me, now…” He snorted, smiling a bit. _ _

_ _“Hey… John?” Dorian started, not sure that it was the right moment to talk about it, “About what happened that day-” he tried to continue, but the car informed they reached their destination at the same time. As the engine turned off, John didn’t move, staring at him, waiting. Dorian slowly shook his head, “We’ll talk about it later.” _ _

_ _John waited another second before nodding and hopping off the car, the DRN silently following. _ _

_ _Most of the clinic had been rebuilt already, only a few machineries still around it, on the other side of the electric fence protecting the whole area. There was no sign of the explosion anymore, and, at that hour, the only noise was the traffic on the road not too far and the low _humm_ of the electricity. _ _

_ _Dorian saw John standing in front of the fence, looking forward. Moving next to him, he scanned the area for a moment before recalling the memories of the last time he saw John- the real John, alive. Putting the records away, he looked at the _android version_ of his friend. “We can’t enter now, but I’ve sent a request already. Maybe tomorrow we-“ _ _

_ _“You haven’t spent months blaming yourself for what happened that day, do you?” John asked, looking at him with a serious expression. “Because I regret nothing. I would do the exact same thing all over again.” _ _

_ _Dorian could easily recognize that determination- and that stubbornness. It was so like John… So like John that he didn’t know how to react for a moment. “I still can’t understand what you say.” _ _

_ _The other sighed and looked away, slowly wandering next to the fence. _ _

_ _“John.” Dorian called and he stopped, turning around. “What I wanted to say before, about the day of the accident...” he looked down in frustration, as the system warned his battery was on 25%. _ _

_ _“It’s so hard to say _thank you_?” John patiently asked. _ _

_ _“What you did was stupid. And reckless!” Dorian blurted out, making the other blink in surprise. “I have been deactivated for months, and only after all that time Rudy told me what happened to you. He helped me remember because they took my memories as well!” _ _

_ _“What?” John moved closer again, looking confused. _ _

_ _“He told me you were dead and I was- I was here, without you. Without any idea of what to do and I don’t like feeling that way. It’s- it was strange, and I shouldn’t feel like that, but I thought that I deserved it because you were dead because of my mistake, and now- now I’m trying to believe that this is you, but maybe it’s just me wishing something like this could be real.” Dorian continued, while the other android stared in silence. “Would _you_ believe something like this?” _ _

_ _John looked so hurt, but he held his gaze saying, “I would believe you,” with a low, sad voice. _ _

_ _Dorian felt that strange feeling again- guilt? Sorrow?- and just stared at him, as if he suddenly would have been able to understand him._ _

_ _“Please, don’t give up on me. Not now,” John said, grabbing his arm, pleading with his eyes. “I'm right here, in front of you. I need you to believe me, man.” _ _

_ _Dorian kept listening to those words that he knew meant something important. Then, he saw John looking past him, eyes suddenly widening before he pushed him away and, while falling, the loud noise of something cracking filled the air; the screeching of a car right after._ _

_ _Looking up, Dorian saw a vehicle on top of the hill leaving as full speed into the road. Turning to John, he found him on his side, on the groud. “John?” he called, quickly moving next to him: turning him around, he found part of his face destroyed, sparks crackling in the dim light, and a hole in his shirt, blue fluid flowing out. _ _

_ _"D-did it hit me?” John asked, his voice altered and jumpy. _ _

_ _Dorian quickly made a scan of him, finding a few components damaged. “John, I can’t fix this. I need to take you back to Rudy!” _ _

_ _John patted his own face, flinching as he touched the large crack on the left side of it, and his expression suddenly changed. “I- I don’t feel it…” he murmured, “I don’t feel anything…” _ _

_ _“Your system is going to-“ _ _

_ _“I don’t feel anything-” _ _

_ _“John, listen to me,” Dorian said firmly grabbing his wrists in each hand. “I have to turn you off until we’ll be back to Rudy's.” He continued, but the other just shook his head, trying to break free. “If I don’t do that and your system shut down, it could get permanently damaged! I’ll make sure to keep it working, but-” _ _

_ _“No- no, don’t turn me off!” John got free just to hold onto his shirt, “Dorian, don’t-” he murmured before his whole body became rigid. _ _

_ _Dorian kept checking his status while calling Rudy that answered almost immediately. “Rudy, John needs help. Someone was following us at the clinic. They tried to destroy us.”_ _

_ _

_ _“What on Earth happened?!” Rudy gasped as Dorian let John’s body on the table. _ _

_ _“Someone shoot at us. I couldn't see who. I was talking to him and then-“ _ _

_ _“Ok. Ok, let me see…” Rudy quickly started to check on the other android, eyes still open but empty. _ _

_ _“What can I do?” Dorian asked moving around him. “Is it bad? Can I-“ _ _

_ _“Dorian, I know you want to help, but you need to go charge yourself.” _ _

_ _“What? No! I can help you! I can-“ _ _

_ _“I really need to focus if we want to keep his system going. I can’t deal with him and you both.” _ _

_ _Dorian knew he was right, they both knew how emotional he could get with his battery running low. “If anything happens, promise me you will wake me up.” _ _

_ _“I will.” Rudy nodded solemnly, but the other didn’t move, keeping his eyes on John. “There are high chances he’s gonna make it,” he added, getting his attention again. “It looks worse than it really is.” _ _

_ _Dorian nodded and slowly moved away. The last thing he saw was John lying on that table, unmoving. He wondered if he was going to lose him again… Unable to help, just like the last time.__

__. - . __

__Opening his eyes again, Dorian first noticed his battery level was on 96%, and then saw Rudy standing next to him. _ _

_ _“Wake you up as promised,” he said, visibly tired. _ _

_ _“Something happened to John?” Dorian asked reaching the android still lying on the table. _ _

_ _“He’s alright,” Rudy said. “I’ve changed the damaged parts- nothing vital, luckily, and, well… He’s fine and recharged for now.” _ _

_ _Dorian could see John’s face has been fixed, the lines marking the broken area barely visible, and his eyes were closed. He did a scan, just to know everything he needed without asking Rudy to explain. Then, he turned to his friend, head down, hands tangled together, and moved to sit next to him. “You saved him.” _ _

_ _“I did?” Rudy smiled tiredly. “I don’t- we don’t even know what he is. What this android is, and now people are hunting him down?” _ _

_ _“You saw my records?” _ _

_ _“Yes… Sorry, but I needed to know. And you needed to recharge.” _ _

_ _Dorian nodded. “Whoever those people are, if they’re ready to risk so much to destroy him, it must mean something, right?” _ _

_ _“Yeah, it means that you almost got destroyed as well.” _ _

_ _“I don’t think they were after me.” _ _

_ _“Maybe not, but they didn’t care about you standing in the middle of the fight either. I saw it. If John didn't see them in time-“ _ _

_ _“He did it again.” Dorian murmured, briefly looking at the android. “Rudy, he saved me again. John saved me, just like the last time.” _ _

_ _The doctor took a deep breath but said nothing. _ _

_ _“Why? Why he keep doing that?” _ _

_ _“If he really is John, then you should already know the answer.” He said, but the DRN kept staring, waiting for an explanation. “That’s just how John works. He cares about his friends, even if pretends he doesn't.” _ _

_ _“But I don’t want him to risk his life for me.” Dorian insisted. “He knows it’s dangerous. He… He was scared, Rudy.” _ _

_ _The other nodded. “Yeah, I saw that too.” _ _

_ _“I need to turn him off to keep him safe, but as I said that, he looked- terrified.” _ _

_ _“Can you blame him?” Rudy said, leaning against the back of the chair, and he got another stare in response. “I mean, for you is normal, but for him- if this is actually a human being somehow stuck in the body of an android, I bet it would be scary being _turned off and on_ all the time. I have no idea what happens to him when he’s not awake… What it feels like.” _ _

_ _Dorian was surprised by that thought. Looking back at John, he tried to imagine his friend's reaction to something like that; how a human being could rationalize such a thing. “He was so scared and I couldn't do anything…” _ _

_ _“There was nothing you could do,” Rudy said. “The system was failing. You did a great job keeping him into sleep mode. If the system had shut down, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to keep to fix it... Considering how his system still blocks me out.” _ _

_ _Dorian rewatched the records of the car that shoot at them, and anger started to bloom, as he couldn’t spot any details or information from the brief three seconds he spent looking at the vehicle before it vanished into the traffic. “I was looking the other way. I didn't see them until John pushed me away. He was looking behind me... Maybe he saw something.” _ _

_ _“Maybe, but his system is still under high protection.” _ _

_ _“You said you were going to find another way to check him up?” _ _

_ _“In theory…” Rudy sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “I’m not sure that is going to work, but it’s worth the shot…” _ _

_ _They both turned when the android gasped, sitting up on the table, awake, nervously looking around. _ _

_ _“Did he woke up by himself?” Rudy murmured standing up. _ _

_ _“John?” Dorian called, quickly moving next to him, and the second their eyes met, John grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and punched him strong enough to send him against the desk, a multitude of objects crashing on the pavement. _ _

_ _“You son of a-“ John growled standing to go punching him in the face again, holding him on the floor, “I told you not to turn me off! I was begging you not to!” he yelled, kneeling on top of the DRN to block him. _ _

_ _“John- John, stop!” Rudy called, but he wasn’t listening. _ _

_ _“I didn’t want to be turned off! Who the hell you think you are to-?!” _ _

_ _“Dorian didn’t turn you off!” Rudy yelled, grabbing John’s arm before he could hit again, and the android turned to him. “If you’re angry about that, he didn’t! Dorian only put you in sleep-mode after your system started to shut down itself. He had no choice!” _ _

_ _John kept staring at him for a moment, then looked down at DRN, at the bruises he caused on his cheek, where part of the skin was now gone, showing the silver metal. _ _

_ _“I couldn’t risk losing you again,” Dorian said, arms down, not even trying to fight back nor defend himself. “I’m sorry.” _ _

_ _John didn’t move for a moment, then free himself from Rudy and stood up, walking away, into the other room. _ _

_ _Rudy breathed out and moved to help the other stand up. “Are you ok?” _ _

_ _“I should go talk to him…” _ _

_ _“Better let him calm down a bit, first,” Rudy said and Dorian slowly nodded, feeling guiltier than ever._ _

_ _

_ _A few hours later, when the sun was just about to rise, Dorian was still checking the records of the shooting, controlling all the cameras available in that area to find traces of the car, but got no luck. All he knew was that the car was gray. _ _

_ _A warning interrupted his research, about an anomaly from one of his battery. He started a full check-up and frowned in confusion. Moving to a mirror, he turned a bit and found the problem: a screwdriver thrust into his back. _ _

_ _Dorian realized it probably happened during the fight with John. He removed his jacket and tried his best to get a good grab on the object, but it was slightly out of reach. _ _

_ _Something clattering on the floor in the other room made him turn around. Since he was in full alert, he moved to check, finding John sitting on top of a table in front of the window, a knife on the floor, at his feet, and few sparkles flying out of his arm. “John?” he called moving closer, noticing a long cut all over his arm, the blue wires shining beneath the silicon skin. “Why did you do this?” he asked, but the other didn’t answer, angrily staring at his own arm. _ _

_ _Dorian quickly scanned the cut, then took the silicone spray on the desk and grabbed his arm, fixing the skin. “Please, don’t damage your body.” _ _

_ _“As if it matters… It's just plastic.” John murmured without looking up._ _

_ _“Just because you’re android, that doesn’t mean you can destroy yourself. This body is the only lead we have to find you.” _ _

_ _“You really believe that, don’t you?” _ _

_ _Dorian spotted the sarcasm into his voice, and when their eyes met, he just said, “Don’t do it anymore,” sounding angrier than usual. “I don’t… I don’t want to see you getting hurt anymore.” He added more calmly, focusing on his arm again. _ _

_ _John just stared at him, at the bruise still visible on his cheek. “Sorry about that.” He said, but the other didn’t look up, so he tapped on his hand to get his attention. “Sorry about that.” He said again, pointing at his cheek. _ _

_ _“I’ll fix it later. It’s-” Dorian said, but, once he finished with the arm, John took the spray and, keeping his chin up with a hand, used it to cover the bruise with a new layer of fake skin. Dorian kept quiet, turning a bit so he could work better._ _

_ _Once done, John put the spray down but stopped halfway, eyes going wide noticing the object thrust into his back. “What the hell is that?” he asked pointing at it._ _

_ _“I fall on it before. Rudy will take care of it.” _ _

_ _“Are you ok? I mean- Is it bad?” John asked, looking worried. _ _

_ _“It’s nothing.” _ _

_ _“You want me to remove it?” _ _

_ _“I still can’t understand what you're saying.” _ _

_ _John let out a tired, nervous groan and patted on himself before grabbing the screwdriver, staring at him, waiting. _ _

_ _“You want to remove it?” Dorian finally catch up and the other nodded. “You can, or I'll ask Rudy later.” _ _

_ _John slowly shook his head, holding him by his side to make him turn a bit, facing the window, and then, he carefully pulled out the object. _ _

_ _Dorian kept looking on the left and down at him, unmoving during the whole process. He watched John put the screwdriver away and then pull his shirt up, checking the damage. He could see John staring intently at it, keeping a hand on his back. “Rudy told me that _being turned off_ can be traumatic for humans. Is it, for you?” _ _

_ _“Well, we’re surely not used to it,” John snorted, moving his hands away. “It’s like- as if I don’t know if I’m dead or not.” _ _

_ _“John, I-“ _ _

_ _He sighed nervously and grabbed his hand, placing it against his chest, where a heart should’ve been. “You feel anything here? Because I don’t, and that’s driving me insane.” _ _

_ _Dorian stared at him, down at his chest, and slowly understood. “No heartbeat.” _ _

_ _John nodded, letting him go, but it was Dorian the one holding hand now, and he was surprised to see the DRN so concerned. _ _

_ _“I want to believe that you’re not dead, John,” Dorian said. “I know this situation must be terrible for you, but I do think that we can save you. You are alive. Otherwise, this body wouldn’t move. You must be controlling it, somehow… No one else would be so stupid to risk their life for me.” _ _

_ _“Oh really?” he snorted. _ _

_ _“I… I don’t want you to die, John. Not for me, nor for anyone else.” He continued. “When I woke up and you were not there… It was different. I was different, and I- I don’t like that.” _ _

_ _John kept staring, too surprised to talk. _ _

_ _“I can’t fully understand the fear you are you feeling now, but… Maybe having you waiting for me to wake up every day, it makes it easier. I want to try do the same for you, now, so that you won't have to feel scared.” Blue streaks slowly crossed Dorian’s face, as a warm, strange sensation grew into his chest. “I promise, I’ll be here every time you wake up until we-” _ _

_ _John grasped his jacket and pulled Dorian forward into a kiss, almost making him fall over, and John wouldn’t have cared one bit: he moved both hands around Dorian’s head, through his hair, dragging him into the kiss as strong and deep as he could because he needed that- maybe they both needed that, to _feel_ each other. _ _

_ _Dorian was trapped there, standing between John’s legs, arms slightly up, in an attempt of hugging. He felt another wave of strange feelings- happiness, worry, and desire that overwhelmed him for a moment, until they parted and stared into each other’s eyes in silence. _ _

_ _John studied his face until a little grin appeared on his face. “Wish I did it when I was human…” he murmured. _ _

_ _“I want to know what you’re saying,” Dorian said, putting both hands on his shoulders. “Please, John, when we'll find you, repeat everything you said.” _ _

_ _John stared caringly at the android, a patient smile on his lips while letting him go. _ _

_ _“Alright, I think is-“ Rudy appeared on the doorstep and stared at them, puzzled. “Is... Everything ok?” _ _

_ _“Yes,” Dorian said keeping his eyes on John that looked down, embarrassed. _ _

_ _“I, uh, I’ve finished with the prototype, if you still want to try it.” _ _

_ _“You did? I thought you were sleeping?” _ _

_ _“As if I could sleep in a moment like this.” Rudy scoffed, walking back into the laboratory, watching them joining a moment later. “Ok, so… I know it looks kind of creepy, but it was the only thing I could use for the purpose at the moment.” _ _

_ _The others just stood in front of half of an android’s body placed on the table: it was only the torso and a head partly covered by artificial skin; only one eye; no hair, and it seemed to be inactive. _ _

_ _“Are you going to use this to check John's system?” Dorian asked. _ _

_ _“Well, I can’t risk using my other projects.” He explained, but the two didn’t look very convinced. “This will work just fine, and if John’s system is going to fight back, I'll try to stop it.” Rudy said and patted a hand on the half-android’s shoulder, looking at it with a sad glare, adding a guilty, “Sorry, mate." _ _

_ _Dorian scanned the prototype, and then looked at John that was staring at it as well. “John, we don’t know what could happen trying to break into your system…” he started. _ _

_ _“It could fry the entire city’s electric system, or just yours, from all we know.” Rudy nodded, crossing his arms. “It’s fifty-fifty, I’m afraid... Still, if we do nothing, we’ll never have any chance to find you.” _ _

_ _John sighed and then nodded, hopping on the operation table as usual. _ _

_ _“Are you sure?” Dorian asked._ _

_ _“You want me to stay like this forever?” John asked with a shrug. “I’ll turn crazier than any DRN in less than a week.” _ _

_ _“I think he's sure…” Rudy said, and John nodded one more time, so he took the prototype and moved it next to him. _ _

_ _John followed the process, then looked at Dorian that was standing a few feet away. When their eyes met, he tilted his head to invite him to come closer. _ _

_ _Dorian obeyed and stood next to him, scanning everything, searching for any kind of anomaly that could mean something was wrong. _ _

_ _“It’s gonna be alright,” John said but the DRN just kept staring, so he took his hand, trying to smile. Dorian said nothing, but gave him just a slight nod._ _

_ _“Ok…” Rudy plugged a wire behind John’s neck, connecting him to the prototype, and then said, “John, I have no idea what is going to happen, but if we manage to get even the smallest clue, we will use it to find you, I promise.” _ _

_ _John nodded, preparing himself as Rudy activated the half-android. _ _

_ _Dorian watched the black eye flickering to life and few wires illuminating the inside of his partly exposed torso. _ _

_ _“We’ll start slow…” Rudy said, pressing a few buttons on his tablet. _ _

_ _“No need to-“ John started to say, but then his face turned completely blank, his body going rigid. _ _

_ _“John?” Dorian grabbed his shoulder, then turned to Rudy. “What happened?” _ _

_ _“I don’t know. Everything is working correctly…” he then frowned as something appeared on the screen, “What the-?” and a second later the device exploded into his hands, forcing him to throw it away with a yelp of pain. _ _

_ _In that splint of second, John blinked and jumped down the table, grabbing Rudy by the neck with his left hand, and stealing the gun on Dorian’s hip with the other, aiming it at the DRN’s face. “Please, don’t move.” He then said, but his voice was deeper and as flat and empty as the expression on his face. _ _

_ _“W-what are you doing?” Rudy said with a choked voice, grasping his arm while being lifted a few centimeters from the floor. _ _

_ _“This isn’t John,” Dorian said. _ _

_ _“Stay back,” the android told him squeezing Rudy’s neck a bit more, making him gasp for air, “or I can’t promise for the safety of Doctor Lom.” _ _

_ _“Who are you?” Dorian asked while taking a step back. “What happened to John?” _ _

_ _“This test will be archived as failed. Please, stay back as assistance will be provided to take care of this model.” He said, slowly walking towards the door, dragging Rudy with him. _ _

_ _“What you mean? What kind of _assistance_?” _ _

_ _“Stay back.” _ _

_ _“Just tell me if John is safe!” Dorian insisted but got no response. “He needs our help! Please, tell me where he is!” _ _

_ _The android stared at him in silence for a long moment, gun still up, and then said, “Detective Kennex will stay in our custody as long as it will be necessary.” _ _

_ _Both Dorian and Rudy looked shocked. “So he- he is alive?” Rudy managed to ask. _ _

_ _“Where is he?” Dorian asked again, “Please, tell me!” _ _

_ _Just then, two officers ran into the lab, guns in hand and quickly approaching them. _ _

_ _“D- don’t shoot!” Rudy gasped, “We need him!” _ _

_ _Dorian recognize the two agents as the same men that he met at John’s apartment. “We need him to-“ he managed to say before one of them shot at him twice in the chest, making him fall backward. _ _

_ _“NO! No- what are you doing? Stop!” Rudy yelled, trying to break free. _ _

_ _“We’re here just to take that one,” the other agent schooled his friend that fired the gun. _ _

_ _“I know, but DRNs always give me the creeps,” he said before looking at _John_, “Kill the doctor and finish the DRN. We have to be quick.” _ _

_ _John was keeping his eyes on Dorian that was slowly trying to stand on his knees. “My orders are different.” _ _

_ _“What did you say?” the officer barked angrily. _ _

_ _“My orders are to take control of this model.” He explained turning to him. “Lethal violence is not required.” _ _

_ _“Fine. You follow your orders. I’ll follow mine.” The man scoffed, approaching Dorian. _ _

_ _Struggling for air, Rudy noticed the now broken wires still plugged in John’s neck: he grabbed the edges and connected them, causing a jump of electricity that made John’s body froze for a few seconds, stumbling back against the table, enough to allow the mechanic to get free. _ _

_ _“You little shit-“ the other office growled approaching him; Rudy tripped on a chair but managed to grab a pen that he thrust into the man’s leg, making him scream in pain. _ _

_ _The other officer turned to him just for a second. “Damn it-” he hissed before looking back at Dorian to finish him. _ _

_ _Dorian shut his eyes, looking away, hearing two gunshot blasting in the room. A few seconds later, with his system still working, he looked up, finding the man laying face down on the floor, blood flowing from his head, and John right behind, staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. _ _

_ _Rudy lowered his arms as well and saw the other man was also dead. _ _

_ _“I was…” John tried to say. “Sorry, I- I wasn’t…” he turned to Rudy, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” _ _

_ _“John…” Dorian tried to stand, but his system was failing and he managed just to fall on his knees. _ _

_ _The other quickly reached for him. “You ok?” _ _

_ _“John, I can-“ Dorian put both hands on his shoulders, “I can understand what you’re saying now.” He said with a relieved smile, “Tell me where you are.” _ _

_ _Taken aback, it took John a second to catch up. “I- I didn’t see much. I heard voices… Just now, when I was- I heard many people around me… Oh God, it’s good talking to you, man,” he sighed before hugging him briefly, and then looked down at the wounds, “Rudy- Rudy you ok? Can you help him?” _ _

_ _“Huh-? Yeah… Yes, I…” he slowly stood and moved to reach them, both helping Dorian to stand and lean against the table. He then looked at the android, “Thank you for saving me, John.” He said and the other just smiled, nodding. _ _

_ _“John, you don’t remember anything else?” Dorian continued. _ _

_ _He shrugged, trying to think. “I remember a gray building…A very tall one. Made of glass? I think it was all glass.” _ _

_ _“How did they transfer your mind into this android?” Rudy asked. _ _

_ _“I don’t know. I can barely remember anything after the explosion…” he said and then heard more people approaching the lab. Turning to the exit, he saw more officers rushing in. _ _

_ _“HANDS IN THE AIR, NOW!” They screamed while few MXs scanned the area, sparing a look at the two bodies on the floor. _ _

_ _“These men tried to kill us!” Rudy insisted, obeying. “They’re not-“ _ _

_ _John saw some of the men looking at Dorian with angry eyes, so he instantly stepped forward. “It was me. I killed them.” _ _

_ _“John, what are you-“ Dorian tried to say, but he was quickly losing power. _ _

_ _“STOP RIGHT THERE!” The agents keep screaming, “PUT THE GUN DOWN!” _ _

_ _Dorian tried to reach for John, but, as he did, the MXs moved to aim at both of them, and then there were more screams and more shooting- and everything turned black.__

__ * __

__“-ok? Can you hear me?” _ _

_ _Dorian blinked a few times, finding Rudy hovering over him with a worried expression on his face. “What happened?” _ _

_ _Rudy sighed in relief, patting a hand on his bare chest saying, “Welcome back,” before helping him sit on the table. _ _

_ _Dorian let his system finish to reboot while scanning the lab: there were still the signs of the fight, but John was nowhere to be found- and in his place, there was Sandra Maldonado staring coldly at them. “Captain.” He tried to stand, but Rudy stopped him. _ _

_ _“I’m still checking you up. Stay put for a bit, alright?”_ _

_ _“I’m fine. I can-“ _ _

_ _“You got shot four times, Dorian. I don’t even know how I managed to save you in time.” Rudy insisted._ _

_ _Dorian barely looked at the wounds on his chest. “Where’s John?” he asked, not missing the tense look Rudy shared with the Captain. _ _

_ _“You mean the android you both thought John was using from the afterlife?” she said, voice as cold and sharp as a blade, “It was destroyed in the shooting tonight. That thing killed two men, Dorian.” _ _

_ _“It was John,” Dorian confirmed, and her face darkened. “We talked to him. We still don’t know how, but John was definitely connected and using that android. He-“_ _

_ _“Yes, I saw your records. Even the ones Rudy tried to hide.” She stopped him. _ _

_ _“There are good reasons why we didn’t tell anyone…” Rudy said. _ _

_ _“I’m all ears.” She shot back, crossing her arms. “I am very curious to know how a shooting between men and androids took place in my department while I was gone for two damn days!” she continued, raising her voice more and more. “You’re risking being accused of illegal androids' traffic, and, as the cherry on top, you both are telling me that John Kennex is still alive!?”_ _

_ _“Captain, I-“ Dorian started but stopped when she raised a hand to shut him up. _ _

_ _“That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you,” Rudy said, getting a furious glare from the Captain. “How we could tell anyone such a crazy story? I didn’t really believe it myself until tonight when I heard that android talk like John,” he continued, and met the DRN’s eyes, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry.” _ _

_ _“It’s alright.” He nodded. _ _

_ _“No, it’s not. Nothing is alright!” She continued, moving closer. “My superiors are waiting for an explanation regarding what happened here, and I’m not gonna tell them that it was all because John Kennex came back from the grave as a robot!” _ _

_ _“What if he has never been in a grave in the first place?!” Rudy yelled back, surprising both of them. “I- I’m sorry, I…” he sighed, struggling to find the right words. “Maybe it was all a lie, but what if it wasn’t? What if someone kidnapped John and he needs our help?” _ _

_ _“He said he saw a tall building made of glass, and that were lots of people around him,” Dorian added. “It could a laboratory of some kind. I can-“ _ _

_ _“**Enough**.” The Captain cut short, and the other two stayed silent. She stared at them for a long moment, then said, “Rudy needs to be interrogated, so he’s coming with me to clarify this accident.” _ _

_ _“But-“ _ _

_ _“After that, I’ll check the shooting’s records from the lab, and then decide how to proceed.” _ _

_ _“Captain, I can start looking for the location John said-“ _ _

_ _“And,” she continued, staring at the android with a murderous glare, “I don’t want to hear John’s name or anything related to him until I’ll have made my decision. Is that clear?” The two just nodded, so she took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Five minutes, Rudy. Don’t make me come back here and drag you upstairs myself.” And that said, she walked away. _ _

_ _Once the door closed, Rudy breathed out, dropping his shoulders. _ _

_ _“Where’s the android?” Dorian asked him, “Maybe I still can try to get some information from it.” _ _

_ _“You can’t, sadly.” He said. “I tried to save it, but it was too late. They left it here for now, in the office. It'll be transferred soon for investigation and- and get rid of him. For everyone else, he’s just an android that killed two humans...” He continued, while Dorian stood and walked into the other room. _ _

_ _Dorian stopped next to the table where the android’s body was laying: there were five gunshot wounds on his torso and two in the head, one eye completely destroyed. He scanned the body, but there was no sign of activity. “Why did they shot him?” _ _

_ _“The police thought you both killed those men and were going to attack again,” Rudy said, standing next to him. “Once the situation calms down, we’ll start looking for him. We will find him.” He stated, but the other just kept staring at the body on the table. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you sooner.” _ _

_ _He turned to him, smiling a bit. “Most of the people wouldn’t have believed me at all.” _ _

_ _Rudy tried to return the smile. “We’ll find him.” He repeated and patted his back before leaving. _ _

_ _Dorian stood there, staring at the android for a while before grabbing one of his hands. “I’m not going to give up on you, John. So don’t you dare give up on me.”_ _


End file.
